gull force

Name:

ZIARAH

THE GULL FORCE ASSOCIATION

PILGRIMAGES TO AMBON

Paul Anthony Rosenzweig

BSc Hons, Grad Dip Ed

Student number: 973729

Faculty: Faculty of Arts (School of Southeast

Asian and Australian Studies),

Northern Territory University

Degree: Master of Arts by research (AMA)

Date of submission: 04 November 1999

Final Submission: ~\ july 2000

IORTHERN TERRITORY UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

We scarcely know what is happening to us, and

we cannot be sure of the next five minutes of

our lives, but in our hearts we fervently hope

that some day in the future we will meet those

two good people again, and when we look back,

as we hope we will be able to, show our

gratitude without any reservation. Surely we

will never forget these friends of ours.

Corporal Arthur Young, 2/21st Battalion AIF,

relating the assistance of Bill and Barbara

Gaspersz during the escape from Tan Toey

Prisoner-of-War Camp on 17 March 1942

(Young, A, "Ambon to Darwin, 17th March '42-

4th May '42". Unpublished transcript, with

attached notes, dated 28 November 1968).

ii

THESIS DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the work herein, now

submitted as a thesis for the degree of Master

of Arts by research, is the result of my own

investigations, and all references to ideas and

work of other researchers have been

specifically acknowledged.

I hereby certify that the work embodied in

this thesis has not already been accepted in

substance for any degree, and is not being

currently submitted in candidature for any

other degree.

Darwin

~\july 2000

iii

ABSTRACT

The Australian 2/21st Battalion Group AIF ('Gull Force') deployed to Ambon in 1941 and, after capitulating, the men were held captive until 1945. just 347 of 1,161 men survived, and the remains of 694 Gull Force members were interred within Ambon War Cemetery. Bill Jinkins' escape from Ambon and its facilitation by the Gaspersz family are central to an understanding of the Gull Force Association Pilgrimage, initiated by Jinkins in 196 7.

This thesis reveals that the Pilgrimage did not commence for two decades after the war due to attitudes in Australia and security issues in Indonesia. Primarily, permission to conduct any form of commemoration on Ambon was denied through a coincidence of dates- April 25th, Anzac Day to Australians, being the anniversary of the proclamation of the South Moluccan Republic in 1950.

The Pilgrimage format is detailed, the 'Doolan Memorial' controversy is analysed, and the Pilgrimage's success is identified in a Medical Aid Programme and scholarship scheme. It is proposed that the particular success of this Pilgrimage has its basis in pela, a uniquely Moluccan tradition of co-operative alliance similar to the Australian 'mateship' concept.

The Pilgrimage is seen to have served key psychological processes by giving survivors an opportunity to grieve which was denied during wartime, by allowing both initiation and finalisation of the grieving process, by developing unity within Gull Force Association, and by directing veterans' energies into a form defined as 'Sustainable Remembrance'.

Finally, concern is expressed that increased official involvement may alter the nature of the Pilgrimage. It is also considered that a combined Pilgrimage might effect some form of reconciliation between Australian and japanese veterans or their families. It is recommended that a broader membership base for Gull Force Association will be vital to the perpetuation of this Ambonese-Australian pela relationship and the Pilgrimage itself.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This project originally commenced with the support of a Northern

Territory History Award (1996), and I am appreciative of this

assistance provided by the Northern Territory Government

through the Honourable Barry Coulter MIA, Minister for

Transport and Works. This History Award supported travel to

Ambon in 1996 to conduct preliminary research and to conduct

interviews. The Honourable Austin Asche AC QC, Administrator

of the Northern Territory, and the Honourable Daryl Manzie MLA,

Minister for Asian Relations and Trade, were enthusiastic

supporters at this critical early stage. My travel to Ambon for

Anzac Day in 1997 and 1998 was kindly made possible by

Brigadier Chris Roberts AM CSC ADC, Commander Northern

Command. The return journey in 1997 was assisted by Garuda

Indonesia (NT), and the return journey in 1998 was supported by

an NTU postgraduate grant. Thanks also to john Pattiselanno for

assistance in translation of Ambonese on Ambon in August 1997,

and to Yukiko Osawa for providing japanese translations in

Darwin.

I am indebted to the many Gull Force veterans and relatives

who have provided information, much of it never before

published. Of particular note are the Pilgrimage Co-ordinator, the

late Lieutenant Colonel Rod Gabriel MBE ED, Mr Bill Page, and

Mr Walter Hicks who made available several original documents

including the significant 'Post-Activity Report' on the ftrst return

v

visit to Ambon in 196 7. I would like to thank Ailsa Rolley

(author of Survival on Ambon) and the late Les Hohl for making

available a recorded presentation on Ambon. Similarly, special

thanks to Ed Weiss for making available a copy of his book Under

the Rising Sun which was only released in the USA, and for

allowing permission to quote various passages. I would also like

to thank Father Paul Glynn and Ron Leech for allowing me to

quote from their books (Glynn, 1995 and Leech, 1995) in support

of this work.

I have received particular support from the staff of the

Northern Territory University and members of the Historical

Society of the Northern Territory. I would particularly like to

thank my Supervisor, Emeritus Professor Alan Powell, for his

comments, support and proof-reading during the preparation of

this thesis. In particular, I would also like to acknowledge the

personal contributions and assistance of the following people:

MrAbu

Dr A Mifudin DSM

Mrs Anne Ahearn

Mrs Dorothy Anderson

Miss Febby Bakarbessy

Mr Jim Baker

MrDon Ball

Captain Graham Bates

Mr john Beel

Group Captain J H Benjamin

Mr Jim Boreham

Taman Makam Pahlawan, Ambon

Director, RSU-Ambon

Gull Force relation

Gull Force relation

Poka,Ambon

33rd Infantry Brigade


Gull Force relation

Gull Force relation

HQNorthem Command, Darwin

Gull Force relation

Vi

Colonel R M Boyd

Mr Reg Brassey

Mr George Brown

Mrs Bronwyn Bunnett

Ms Robyn Burns

Chaplain Eric Burton RAN

Mrs Chris Carswell

Mrs Diana Clifford (de Lima)

Mr Bill Cook

Mr Fred Crane

Miss Rina de Fretes

Mrs Margarethe de Lima

Lieutenant jeff Davis USN

Ms Wendy Doolan

Squadron Leader Gerry

Dowling

Captain Harold Drane (retd)

Mrs Doreen Eva

Mr Marius Farneoebun

Mr Rick Fiddian

Captain Alex Gabriel RFD

Mrs Barbara Gaspersz

Mr Bill Gaspersz

Mr john Gaspersz

Mr Max (Eddie) Gilbert

Mr Noel Grimes

Mrs joyce Hawken

Deputy Commander, Northern

Command, Darwin

Gull Force

Lord Mayor of Darwin

Gull Force relation

Gull Force relation

HMAS Coonawarra, Darwin

Gull Force relation

Ambon

Gull Force

Gull Force

Ambon

Ambon

US Seventh Fleet

Gull Force relation

No.13 (City of Darwin) Squadron

Gull Force

Gull Force relation

Ambon

Gull Force relation

Gull Force relation

Ambon

Ambon

Ambon War Cemetery, Tantui

Gull Force

RAN Corveteers Association

Gull Force relation

vii

Lieutenant Colonel jack

Haydon MBE ED (retd)

Mr Clarrie Hein

Mr Walter Hicks

Rev Alec Hilliard

Mr Les Hohl

Mr Philip Hohl

Mrs Melissa Howgate

Mr Tom Hughes

Mr Harold Hutton

Mr Ted jane AM

Mr Paul Kastanja

Mr Eric Kelly

Captain John Killen

Squadron Leader Andrew

Knight

Mr Ot Latupeirissa

Mr John Laves

Mr Ron Leech

Mr Herry Lerebulan

Captain Glyn Llanwame

Major Ian lvlacrae OBE

Mr john Macrae

Mr Rob McDougall

Mr Doug Mcintosh

Mrs Lynn McCloy

Mrs jean McLeavy

Darwin

Gull Force

Gull Force


Gull Force

Gull Force relation

Gull Force relation

No.13 Squadron RAAF

No.l3 Squadron RAAF


Latuhalat, Ambon

Gull Force


RAAF Chaplain, Darwin

Dep't of Information, Ambon

No.13 Squadron RAAF

Gull Force

Office of the Mayor of Ambon


Gull Force

Gull Force relation

Gull Force relation

Gull Force

Gull Force relation

Gull Force relation

viii

Drs Wim Manuhutu

Mr Rod Meyers

Miss Margery Moore

Mr J P Nelson

Mr Bill O'Connor

Mr Bill Page

Mr Frank Papilaya

Mr Peter Papilaya Mr Wally Parker

Mrs Norma Petterson

Drs john Pattikayhatu

Mr john Pattiselanno

Mrs Sue Pattiselanno

Mr jan Pattiselanno & family

Mr Nes Pattiselanno

Mr Lionel Penny

Mr john Phillips

Mr Tom Pledger

Mr Gadolphus Ramon

Mr Frits Rehatta

Squadron Leader (retd)

Brian Richardson

Mr Ian Roach

Mr Neil Roach

Sergeant Dave Roath

Director, Moluks Historisch

Museum Sedjarah Maluku,

The Netherlands

Port Darwin Rotary

Gull Force relation

Commonwealth War Graves

Commission

RAAF

Gull Force

Ambon War Cemetery, Tantui

Batugadjah, Ambon

Gull Force relation

Gull Force relation

Pattimura University, Ambon

Darwin

Darwin

Amahusu & Paperu, Ambon

Batugadjah, Ambon

Gull Force

Gull Force relation

Gull Force

Tantui, Ambon

Soya Atas, Ambon

No.13 (City ofDaiWin) Squadron

Gull Force relation

Gull Force relation

No.l3 (City of Darwin) Squadron

ix

Brigadier Chris Roberts

AMCSCADC

Mr Ron Robinson

WOD Fred Romeyn

Mr John Rowland

Miss Debby Sahetapy

Mr Yos Sahetapy

Letnan Kolonel Laut

Barends Sapasuru

Ms Maggie Scott

Mrs Glad Shead Ny Henny Siahaienia

Commander, Northern Command

Gull Force relation

No.13 (City of Darwin) Squadron

Gull Force relation

Ambon

Office of the Governor of Maluku

Halong, Ambon

Gull Force relation

No.13 Squadron Association Office of the Mayor of Ambon

Miss Smarce Simona Sienaya Wayame, Ambon

Mr Frans & Mrs Annie Sienaya Wayame, Ambon

Miss Susan Silooy Amahusu, Ambon

Miss Golda Simauw Tantui, Ambon

Mrs Sientje Simauw Tantui, Ambon

Commodore Geoff

Smith AM RAN ADC Commander, Northern Command

Mrs Tilly Soukotta Maluku Province Tourism Office

Kolon~JohannesSudyono MayorofAmbon

Mr Julius & Mrs Jean Tahija Jakarta

Captain Matthew Thompson HQNorthern Command, Darwin

Miss Janeke Titiheru Wayame, Ambon

Kolonel (Purn) Dicky

Wattimena Former Mayor of Ambon

Mr Ed Weiss US Army veteran

Mr Ken Whatson RAN Corveteers Association

Squadron Leader John Willett No.l3 (City of Darwin) Squadron

X

/

Mr Harry Williams

Ms Keryn Williams

Mr George Williamson

Mr Frank Wilson

lieutenant Colonel Chris

Wrangle

Gull Force

Gull Force relation

Gull Force


Australian Army, Darwin

xi

CONTENTS

THESIS DEClARATION iii ABSTRACT iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS v CONfENTS xii PREFACE xiv ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS xvii

1. INIRODUCTION 1

2. GUll FORCE 18

3. A DEBT OF GRATITUDE 38 3.1 Rescue plan & special operations 3.2 Post-war attitudes in Australia 3.3 Post-war Indonesian history 3.4 Operation 'Good Will'

4. PILGRIMAGE - ZIARAH 91 4.1 The Gull Force Association

Pilgrimages 4.2 The 'Doolan Memorial' 4.3 Links

5. CLOSURE 135 5.1 Grieving 5.2 The Processes served by

the Pilgrimage

6. OUTLOOK FOR THE FUI1JRE 169 6.1 Official involvement 6.2 Prospects for reconciliation

7. CONCLUSION 197

GLOSSARY 211 REFERENCES 226

xii

APPENDICES

Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3

Gull Force statistics RMS Declaration of Independence Songs of Doolan

xiii

PREFACE

This thesis is not an official history of Gull Force (the 2/21st

Battalion Group AIF). This role has largely been fulfilled by two

key publications by joan Beaumont (1988) and Gull Force veteran

Courtney Harrison (1988), together with two other books relating

the service of veterans Ron Leech (Leech, 1995) and Les Hohl

(Rolley, 1994). The basic aim of this project was to document the

history and conduct of the annual Gull Force Association

Pilgrimage to Ambon, and to assess its significance within a range

of different contexts.

The few published accounts of relevance were examined in

both Australia and Ambon, several of these references having

been published in Indonesian. It has been the personal reflection

and introspection by Pilgrimage participants both during and

after their visits to Ambon which have revealed the multilateral

and multidisciplinary processes served by the Pilgrimage. Much

of the history associated with the Pilgrimage has therefore

necessarily been oral in nature. Many of the stories are verbal or

written recollections by veterans, their families and the various

Ambonese who assisted the Australians during and after the war.

There may be minor errors in their recollections, but in the

contextual framework of this thesis it is the spirit of the message

conveyed which is most important. Interviews were conducted in

Australia and Ambon in both English and Bahasa Indonesia, and

xiv

some interviews were conducted in Bahasa Indonesia and

Ambonese with the assistance of an interpreter. Quotations are

given literally without correction of grammatical or spelling

errors. Measurements, when given in oral history text, have

generally been left in contemporary units.

The title 'Indonesia' is a complex term, used widely by the

Javanese to refer to their vision of a unitary republic free from

Dutch colonial domination. The term was also used by the

japanese within the wartime context of offering liberation to their

Asian brothers. Within this thesis, other than the wartime

japanese usage, the terms 'Indonesia' and 'Indonesian' are used

only in reference to the post-war Republic. Within the context of

World War 2, the archipelago is consistently referred to by its

contemporary title - the Netherlands East Indies.

Equally, Bahasa Indonesia has existed as a concept since the

turn of the century, but was formally imposed by the Central

Government upon the establishment of the Republic of Indonesia

as one of several mechanisms to unify the ethnically and

linguistically diverse peoples of the archipelago. Within this

thesis, there are references to 'Indonesian' as the national

language, however it must be remembered that this was largely a

Javanese imposition after independence and in the provincial

regions the concurrent use of local dialects has persisted to the

present time. The Indonesian language underwent a significant

modernisation on 11 August 1972, in which several forms were

simplified, such as:

XV

In all cases:

' ... ch ... ' was replaced by ' ... kh ... '

' dJ' ' as 1 db ' · ' ... ... w rep ace y ... J .. .

' ... oe ... ' was replaced by ' ... u ... '

' ... tj ... ' was replaced by ' ... c ... '

In certain cases:

' · ' lac db ' ' ... J... was rep e y ... y .. .

' ... p ... ' was replaced by ' .. .f ... '

' ... ss ... ' was replaced by ' ... s ... '

eg achir became akhir

eg Djakarta became Jakarta

eg Nakoe became Naku

eg ketjil became kecil

eg Rijadi became Riyadi

eg Pebruari became Februari

eg Passo became Paso

For ease of reading in this thesis, modem spelling has been used

for place names, even though the old form was in use during

World War 2 and during the frrst Pilgrimages of 196 7 and 1968.

Personal names have generally been left in original form unless

they have been altered, in which case the modem convention is

used. Technical terms, specifications for key vessels, military

formation titles and other terms of significance used or named in

the text are explained in further detail in the Glossary following

the main body of the thesis.

xvi

ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS

MSC

AEME

ABDA

ABRI

ADF

AIF

AM

AMD

Amforce

APRMS

AWGC

BEM

BS

CMF

CMG

CD

esc DCP

Demob

DSO

Australian Army Service Corps

Australian Electrical & Mechanical Engineers

American, British, Dutch and Australian Command

Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia

(Indonesian Armed Forces), see Glossary

Australian Defence Force

Australian Imperial Force

Member of the Order of Australia

ABRI Masuk Desa ("ABRI Enters the Village")

(Indonesia)

Ambon Force- the 33rd Infantry Brigade AIF

(Australia)

Angkatan Perang Republik Maluku Selatan

(Army of the Republic of the South Moluccas)

Australian War Graves Commission

British Empire Medal

Berdiri Sendiri (Independent, Infantry Battalion)

(Indonesia)

Citizens' Military Forces (Australia)

Companion of the Order of St Michael & St George

Commanding Officer

Conspicuous Service Cross

Defence Co-operation Programme (Australia)

Demobilisation

Distinguished Service Order

xvii

ED Efficiency Decoration

ENT Ear, Nose & Throat

GIQ. General Headquarters

HMAS His (or Her) Majesty's Australian Ship

HMS His (or Her) Majesty's Ship (United Kingdom)

KDM Komando Daerah Militer (Military Area Command)

(Indonesia), see Glossary

KNIL Koninklijk Nederlandsch Indische Leger (Royal

Netherlands Indies Army), see Glossary

KODAM Komando Daerah Militer (Military Area Command)


KOREM Komando Resort Militer (Military Resort Command)


KRI Kapal Republik Indonesia (Ship of the Indonesian /

Republic)

Linud Lintas Udara (Airborne Infantry Battalion)

(Indonesia)

MBE Member of the Order of the British Empire

MC Military Cross

MLA Member of the Legislative Assembly

MO Medical Officer

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

MWO Military Order of William (De Militaire

Willems-Orde) (Netherlands), see Glossary

NEFIS Netherlands East Indies Forces Intelligence

Service, see Glossary

NEI Netherlands East Indies

NIT Negara Indonesia Timur (The State of East

Indonesia)

xviii

NORCOM

NT

OBE

oc PERMESTA

PKK

POW (orPW)

RAA

RAE RAAF

RAAMC

RAN

RANR

RCU retd

RI

RI

RIS

RMS

RNN

RSL

RSU

RVR

7MD

Northern Command (Australia)

Northern Territory (Australia)

Officer of the Order of the British Empire

Officer Commanding

Piagam Perjuangan Semesta Alam (Charter for

Overall Struggle) (Indonesia)

Pendidikan Ketrampilan Keluarga (Family

Education Skills) (Indonesia)

Prisoner of War

Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery

Royal Australian Engineers

Royal Australian Air Force

Royal Australian Army Medical Corps

Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy Reserve

Regional Cadet Unit (Australia)

Retired

Resimen Infanteri (Infantry Regiment) (Indonesia)

Republik Indonesia (Republic of Indonesia)

Republik Indonesia Serikat (Republic of the

United States of Indonesia)

Republik Maluku Selatan (Republic of the South

Moluccas) (Indonesia), see Glossary

Royal Netherlands Navy

Returned Services League (Australia)

Rumah Sakit Umum (General Hospital) (Indonesia)

Royal Victorian Regiment (Australia)

The 7th Military District (Australia)

xix

SMP

SRD

TNI

uss vc W02

WW2

YONIF

'Z'

Sekolah Menengah Pertama (Junior High School)

(Indonesia)

Services Reconnaissance Department

Ten tara Nasional Indonesia (Indonesian National

AJTny), see Gloss~

United States Ship

Victoria Cross

Warrant Officer Class 2

World War 2

Batalyon Infanteri (Infantry Battalion) (Indonesia)

Z-Special Unit, of the Services Reconnaissance

Department (Australia)

XX

ZIARAH: THE GULL FORCE ASSOCIATION PILGRIMAGES TO AMBON

Paul A Rosenzweig

- 1 -

INTRODUCTION

- 1 -

INTRODUCTION

The fabled island of Ambon (or Amboina) has been the site of

military actions of various sorts fought over the centuries by

those jealous of either her spices or strategic location.

Particularly significant in recent times has been the part played

during World War 2 by a relatively little known component of the

second Australian Imperial Force (AIF), known proudly as 'Gull

Force'. The 2/2lst Battalion came to the Northern Territory

during the 'phoney war' period, and played a key role in the

Darwin Defence Plan of 1941. Later, reinforced and with the

operational title of 'Gull Force', it was destined to become one of a

number of forces deployed to the islands north of Australia to

confront and stall the japanese. On Ambon it adopted a defensive

posture beside the Royal Netherlands Indies Army (KNIL) but it

had been sent with limited resources and no naval assets, and an

RAAF squadron based on Ambon was withdrawn by the

Australian Government just as the japanese strike was about to

commence. The protests of the Gull Force Commanding Officer,

and his requests for additional weaponry, reinforcements, and air

and naval support drew no response from Australia other than to

have him summarily replaced.

The 2/21st Battalion

The first drafts of men for the 2/21st Battalion were sent to a

Staging Camp at Shepparton, and the battalion trained at Trawool

in Central Victoria and Bonegilla before travelling overland to

Introduction z

Darwin, where they arrived on 17 April 1941. They built an

encampment on an uncleared site beside the North-South Road,

which became known either as 'Winnellie Camp' or the '7 -Mile

Camp', and erected defensive installations in the triangular

peninsula of land north of McMillan's Road culminating at Lee

Point. Under the Danvin Defence Plan, the battalion was directed

to focus purely on the defence of the Lee Point peninsula itself.

In june, the Commanding Officer lieutenant Colonel Len Roach MC

ED was directed to establish a line running east-west from the

mouth of Rapid Creek to Leanyer Swamp. In the event of a

japanese landing on Casuarina Beach or at Lee Point, this would

be a Stopline at which the 2/21st Battalion was to harass and

delay the japanese force. The service of the battalion in Darwin is

detailed in official militacy directivesl, and has been summarised

in a separate paper2.

Later in the year, in preparation for deployment, the

battalion was supplemented by auxiliary troops and was allocated

under the direct command of Army Headquarters as the

2/2lst Battalion Group AIF ('Gull Force'). Gull Force's wartime

experience was subsequently recorded by three members:

Courtney Harrison, a 2/21st Battalion medical orderly, Ron Leech,

a medic with the 2/12th Field Ambulance, and Les Hohl, a sapper

from the 2/llth Field Company3. The Dutch formally requested

Australian military assistance on December 7th, and on the 13th

Gull Force embarked on the Dutch inter-island transports Both,

Velentijn and Patras. This convoy sailed from Danvin the

following morning at 1 am, escorted by the cruiser HMAS

/

In traduction 3

Adelaide and the corvette HMAS Ballarat. With anti-tank guns

and machine-guns deployed on the decks, two Hudson bombers

patrolling overhead by day, and a course which changed

constantly to counter the threat of submarine attack, the convoy

made its way northwards- to a destination still unknown to the

men. To the members of Gull Force as they made their way

northwards, that this same route and destination might, 35 years

later, become the course of a famous yacht race, would have been

inconceivable.

Ambon

The role of the Portuguese and the Dutch in Ambon is well

documented, as well as the brief British occupation in 18104•

Less widely recorded within Australia is local Ambonese history,

particularly relating to the various local insurrections. The

history of the KNIL is also little known, but is significant because

most Ambonese today have a grandfather or earlier ancestor who

served in the KNIL. This history, unknown to most Australians,

serves to demonstrate the traditional and long-standing loyalty of

the Ambonese to the Europeans, rather than some sort of 'Asian

brotherhood' that the invading Japanese tried to promote. It is

significant because it tends to suggest why the Ambonese were

more likely to support the Australians, even in captivity, than the

japanese in occupation.

japanese expansion

The islands of the South Moluccas to the north and northwest of

Australia comprise a forward screen, a physical boundary to be

Introduction 4

crossed by an aggressor if Australia itself was to be threatened.

In addition to the major occupied islands such as Ambon and

Timor, there were also three significant island groups in the

Arafura Sea which also belonged to the Netherlands East Indies

(NEI) - the Tanimbar Islands (with the main port of Saumlaki),

the Aru Islands (Dobo) and the Kai Islands (Tual), which were

close enough to be used as stepping stones for an invasion of

Dutch New Guinea or even Australia. In February 1941,

Australian, British and Dutch Service chiefs had sanctioned the

idea of reinforcing the Ambon and Timor garrisons with RAAF

advanced bases and AIF ground troopss, and 13 Squadron had ·

been despatched to Laha airfield on Ambon (although it was

actually recalled before the japanese invasion6). After assuming

his appointment as Commander-in-Chief of ABDA Command in

january 1942, General Sir Archibald Wavell had made it clear

that he was opposed to handing objectives to the enemy without

making a fight for it. Similarly, the Australian Prime Minister

said that he would not allow the islands to Australia's north to be

used by the japanese as spring-boards to Australia - if Australian

troops were based on islands in the NEI they would counter or at

least slow the japanese onslaught.

japanese aircraft conducted a preliminary raid on Ambon

on January 6th, although a japanese presence had already been

established on Ambon, with japanese operating fishing boats and

'variety' shops, and the concurrent distribution of anti-Dutch

propaganda in villages throughout the island7. In the villages,

offices and schools, the Ambonese were taught that 'japan is the

/

Introduction 5

elder brother of Indonesia'. Wavell, meanwhile, had reduced the

extent of the island defence chain, drawing his 'defence·

perimeter' back to java, Timor and Darwin. Gull Force on Ambon

was suddenly well north of that perimeter, and it was now no

longer feasible to have them extracted. The fleet aircraft carriers

Soryu and Hiryu of the japanese 2nd Carrier Division moved into

position on 24 january, and the japanese invasion fleet appeared

on the horizon on january 30th8.

Defence and Captivity

Soon after the japanese landing, Gull Force capitulated in the face

of overwhelming numerical superiority. The men were taken

back into their barracks and held for the remainder of the war,

suffering regular bashings and inhumane treatment (some were

also taken to a POW camp on Hainan Island near China). At war's

end, of over 1,100 original members of Gull Force, just 301 were

repatriated to Australia (see a reassessment of Gull Force

statistics in Appendix 1). And because of the significant number

of Australians buried within the camp, the site was converted

into a War Cemetery containing the bodies of 694 Gull Force

members. A considerable number of these were the

unidentifiable remains of over 200 men who had been executed

at the Laha airfield in early 1942, the mass graves there not

exhumed until the end of 1945.

While the period of Gull Force's captivity on Ambon forms

the underlying basis of the Pilgrimages, it is well documented9

and will not be the focus of this project. Neither will detailed

Introduction 6

consideration be given to the japanese occupation of Maluku and

Ambonlo. There is now much recorded on the japanese as

captors and the experiences of Australians as captivesll, and the

community of Tan Toey Camp has provided the basis for a study

of leadership in captivity12. Similarly, the circumstances of the

escapes from Ambon will not be examined in detail, although the

the role of Lieutenant Bill Jinkins in leading a successful escape

from Tan Toey Camp, and the role of the Gaspersz family in

facilitating this escape, are central to an understanding of the

Pilgrimage13.

Post-war Indonesia

This thesis gives a detailed account of why the Gull Force

Association Pilgrimage did not commence for two decades after

World War 2. One of the prime considerations was the range of

post-war attitudes in Australia, including frustration and guilt,

disappointment and a need to forget in the survivors, a lack of

recognition, and the various post-war adjustments required by

the survivors and families14. Secondly, the Pilgrimage could not

be initiated because of the circumstances of Indonesian post-war

history which are largely unknown within Australia, although

they have been documented in various textslS and military

publications16. Notable obstacles confronting Gull Force

Association were the RMS and Permesta revolts17, two

Confrontations, and a brief flirtation with the Soviet Union which

has already been documented lB.

In traduction 7

It was as a direct result of the commitment of Bill Jinkins to

fulfill an obligation to thank the Gaspersz family that a series of

return visits to Ambon was instituted by Gull Force Association.

These annual visits are a means of recognising service and

sacrifice by Australians and Ambonese alike, and allow the

veterans to thank the Ambonese in a tangible way ~ through a

Medical Aid Programme and through a scholarship trust fund.

What makes the Ambon War Cemetery unique is that well over

half of a single Australian battalion group lies here in eternal rest

on a site which was the site of their barracks before the Japanese

invaded, which then became the site of their incarceration for the

duration of the war. It is almost beyond contemplation that so

many men could train together and then stand together against

an aggressor, only to go into captivity and watch each other waste

away through malnutrition or die as a result of beatings.

Furthermore, that only one in three of them would ever return to

Australia. For those who escaped, and for the survivors of

captivity, the Ambon War Cemetery is truly a holy place. Their

return here is not so much a visit, and is certainly not a simple

reunion. Their visits have truly taken on the nature of a

Pilgrimage, with what the Indonesians might recognise as a

spiritual atmosphere. There are official records which relate to

the Ambon War Cemetery19 and its consecration in 196820, but

the conduct of Operation 'Good Will' and the inception of the first

Gull Force Pilgrimages will be detailed based upon significant

unpublished Gull Force reports21. Again, the roles of key figures

such as Bill Jinkins MB£22, Rod Gabriel MBE ED, Oscar Tjio, Bill

Gaspersz and Julius Tahija23 are investigated.

In traduction 8

Pilgrimage

There is little published material relating to the Pilgrimages to

Ambon other than brief general accounts in the media24 or

various newsletters25, and this is collated and supplemented by a

number of oral history accounts. Some mention of other

'pilgrimages' will be made26.

There is today a strong link between the cities of Ambon

and Darwin, forged when Darwin was a staging point for the

Australian defenders of Ambon in 1941, and reinforced in 1988

when a Sister-Cities agreement was ratified between the

Municipality of Ambon and the City of Darwin. A Darwin-to

Ambon yacht race had already been running for several years,

and the Sister City link gave this a boost, as well as prompting a

series of educational associations between universities in Darwin

and Ambon. Meanwhile, as the Northern Territory Government

fostered links with the provinces of eastern Indonesia, new

opportunities for trade and tourism were created27. The annual

Anzac Day commemorative services in Ambon and the

community assistance provided by Gull Force Association have

continued to strengthen the already strong links between Ambon

and Darwin, and have further created a framework for mutual co

operation and development which the rest of Australia would be

well advised to emulate. The various links between Ambon,

Australia and Darwin are investigated, including the 1988 Sister

Cities agreement and the two 13 Squadrons, as well as the other

links which have been established in the fields of education,

defence, tourism and trade.

/

In traduction 9

In considering why the Gull Force Pilgrimage has been

successful, the modern format of the annual Pilgrimage is detailed

and the controversy surrounding the 'Doolan Memorial' is

explained in terms of Indonesian remembrance28. Some of the

more significant factors which have contributed to the success of

the Pilgrimage are considered, including the acceptance of Gull

Force as the defenders of Ambon, the development of a broad

based array of co-operative links including Defence Force support

within a broader concept of 'regional engagement'29, and the

practical gratitude demonstrated by Gull Force Association rather

than simply the repeated conduct of commemorative seiVices.

More than this however, the particular success of the Gull Force

Pilgrimage to Ambon is considered generally in terms of pela, a

uniquely Moluccan tradition of co-operative alliance30.

That the Gull Force Association Pilgrimage has become

successful cannot be denied, but why have the survivors insisted

on returning each year to revisit the scene of such horrendous

atrocities? To attempt to identify a single significance for the

Pilgrimage would be far too simplistic an analysis. This thesis

acknowledges that there are a number of different contexts

within which the Pilgrimage holds a unique significance. It is in

the fact that the Pilgrimage encompasses a number of multilateral

and multidisciplinary processes - by which many participants

personally benefit from the Pilgrimage but in different ways and

for different reasons - that the Pilgrimage's true success lies.

While honouring the service and sacrifice of their

Introduction 10

Australian mates and their Ambonese friends, the veterans

overcame their grief, anger and bitterness and looked to the

future. In coming to terms with the oppression of the japanese,

the Gull Force men seized an opportunity to thank the Ambonese

community for their friendship and support. It is this key aspect

that this thesis also addresses, by exploring the psychological and

emotional processes the Gull Force Pilgrimage has served31,

seeking a spiritualistic dimension to the Pilgrimage (along the

lines of the Indonesian concept of Ziarah, a special visit to a grave

or monument to seek ancestral/divine assistance or inspiration).

It is proposed that the history of the Pilgrimage reflects the

traditional stages of grieving, and that aspects of the Pilgrimage

display parallels with funeral practices in the initiation of

recovery from grief. It is suggested that the Pilgrimage has

played a significant role for individual veterans and families by

allowing 'closure' to the grieving process. In offering the veterans

an opportunity to grieve, it has developed unity amongst them,

and has redirected their energies into a form which is here

defined as 'Sustainable Remembrance' - honouring the past, but

working positively with a practical view towards the future.

Finally, based on the Villers-Bretonneaux experience32,

consideration is given to the future outlook for the Pilgrimage

based on increasing levels of Defence Force involvement. It is

also suggested that, given the psychological processes the Gull

Force Pilgrimage has served Australian veterans and their

families over the last three decades, a combined Pilgrimage to

Ambon might effect some form of reconciliation between Gull

/

Introduction 11

Force and japanese veterans, or at least between their families.

The undoubted basis of the various links and co-operative

agreements which today exist, and still the strongest such bond, is

the spiritual bond between the Ambonese and their Australian

defenders. Recently, Gull Force Association has broadened the

criteria for membership, creating the opportunity for widows,

daughters and other relatives and friends to join the Association

as full members, which will be vital to the perpetuation of this

bond and the Pilgrimage itself.

In summary, it is the intention of this thesis to address the

following key aspects relating to the Pilgrimages:

• the role of Bill Jinkins in establishing the Pilgrimage, and

the early sources of support.

• the reasons for the twenty year delay before the Gull

Force Pilgrimages commenced.

• the basis of the controversy regarding the 'Doolan

Memorial', and the insight this gives into Indonesian

remembrance.

• the basis of the success of the Gull Force Pilgrimage.

• the psychological/ emotional processes the Pilgrimage has

served for the veterans and their families.

• the future outlook for the Pilgrimage.

• the prospect for 'reconciliation' between Gull Force and

Japanese veterans or their families.

Introduction 12

With the onset of ethnic and religious violence on Ambon in

January 1999 and the death of stalwart Pilgrimage Co-ordinator

Rod Gabriel in February, the future prospects for the Pilgrimage

now appear to be in doubt. As the Gull Force Pilgrimage faces the

possibility of an enforced recess, or even cessation, it becomes

vital that the efforts of Jinkins and Gabriel, the sacrifice of Daniel

Gaspersz and his family, and the achievements associated with

the Gull Force Medical Aid Programme are recorded. The story of

the Gull Force Pilgrimages encompasses human endurance and

compassion, draws together Australian and Indonesian history,

and epitomises the promise to remember.

/

In traduction 13

Notes

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Outline Plan for the Defence of 7th Military District dated 26 April 1941; 23 lnf Bde Operational Instruction No.1 dated 1 May 1941; 23 lnf Bde Operations Order No.1 dated 11 June 1941. See also Rayner, R, The Army and the Defence of Darwin Fortress. Rudder Press, Plumpton, 1995. Rosenzweig, P A, " 'In Australia Forever' - the 2/21 st Battalion in Defence of Darwin". Journal of Northern Territory History, No.9 (1998), 29-42. Respectively: Harrison, C T, Ambon, Island of Mist. T W & C T Harrison, North Geelong, 1988; Leech, R, Pacific War Odyssey. From Treaty Ports to A-Bomb. Ron Leech, Sydney, 1995; Rolley, A, Survival on Ambon. Ailsa Rolley, 1994. Chauvel, R H, Nationalists, soldiers, and separatists: the Ambonese islands from colonialism to revolt, 1880-1950. KITLV Press, Leiden, 1990b; Muller, K, Maluku, The Moluccas. Periplus Editions Inc, California, USA, 1990; Ricklefs, M C, A history of modern Indonesia since c. 7 300, 2nd Edition. MacMillan Press, London, 1993; Rosenzweig, P A, "The recent military history of Ambon, Indonesia." Sabretache, XXXV(1 ): 3-13, January-March 1994; Sejarah Kebangkitan Nasional Daerah Maluku. Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Maluku, 1977 /78; Soegih Arto, Indonesia & I. Times Books International, Singapore, 1994; Sudharmono, SH, 30 Years of Indonesia's Independence. Volume 2, 1950-1965. State Secretariat, Republic of Indonesia, 1975; Thorn, Major W, Memoir of the Conquest of Java; with the subsequent operations of the British Forces, in the Oriental Archipelago. T Egerton, Military Library, Whitehall, 1815 [Facsimile Edition, Periplus Editions (HK), 1993]. The 2/21 st's sister battalion in the 23rd Brigade had already been supplemented with additional troops and, known as the 2/22nd Battalion Group, had been deployed to Rabaul, operationally designated Lark Force. The 2/ 40th Battalion Group became known as Sparrow Force when it later deployed to Timor, and the 2/3rd Independent Company became Robin Force on New Caledonia. Grantham, S R, The 7 3 Squadron Story. Privately published, 1991; Simmonds, E & N Smith (eds), Echoes over the Pacific, 1995; 13 Squadron Newsletter (various). Some of these pamphlets carried such slogans as: "Japan will liberate the people of Asia from the white-skinned devil people " and "Japan will come to expel the devils ". Pictures were used to show that the Japanese were not coming to make war with Asian people but simply to, "makan pisang bersama-sama dengan orang Asia " (literally, 'to eat bananas together with the people of Asia') (Sejarah Kebangkitan Nasional Daerah Maluku, 1977/78, p.143).

/

Introduction 14

8 Lockwood, D, The Front Door; Darwin, 1869-1969. Rigby, Adelaide, 1968; Lockwood, D, Australia's Pearl Harbour. New Edition. Rigby, Adelaide, 1984; McCarthy, D, Australia in the war of 7 939-45, Series 1 (V): South West Pacific Area, The First Year. Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1959; Wigmore, L, Australia in the war of 1939-45. Series 1 (Army), Volume IV: The Japanese Thrust. AWM Canberra, 1968; Sejarah Kebangkitan Nasional Daerah Maluku (1977 /78).

9 Adam-Smith, P, Prisoners of War. From Gallipoli to Korea. Viking, Victoria, 1992 ("The Fate of the 2/21st", pp.314-336); Beaumont, J, Gull Force: Survival and Leadership in captivity 1941-45. Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1988; Harrison (1988). See also the story of an American: Weiss, E W, Under the Rising Sun. War, Captivity and Survival 194 7-1945. Edward W Weiss, Erie PA, USA, Revised Second Printing, 1995.

1 0 Chauvel, R H, The Rising Sun in the Spice Islands: A History of Ambon during the Japanese Occupation. Working Paper 3 7, Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Monash University, 1987; Chauvel, R H, Nationalists, soldiers, and separatists: the Ambonese islands from colonialism to revolt, 1BBD-1950. KITL V Press, Leiden, 1990b.

11 Adam-Smith (1992), pp.314-336; Blood Oath, directed by Stephen Wallace, Roadshow/Sovereign Pictures, Sydney, 1990; Harrison, K, . The Brave Japanese. Rigby, Adelaide, 1966; McCormack, G & H Nelson (eds), The Burma-Thailand Railway: memory and history. Allen & Unwin, St Leonards, 1993; Nelson, H, " 'A bowl of rice for seven Camels'. The dynamics of prisoner-of-war camps". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 14: 33-42 (April 1989); Sejarah Kebangkitan Nasional Daerah Maluku (1977 /78). Unpublished sources relating to Ambon include Gabriel MBE ED (retd), Lieutenant Colonel R C, Address to the Gull Force Anzac Eve Dinner (Ambon), 24 April (1993, 1996, 1997, 1998); Gilbert, M J, "Ambon 1941-1945. Recollections of a Survivor". Unpublished memoirs, 1993, Revised Edition 1996; Hicks, W D, "Gull Force (2/21 st Infantry Battalion) Ambon, Indonesia". Unpublished notes, 27 April 1997; Penny, L J, "A Tale of Horror and Despair". Unpublished notes, 1985; Robinson, QX16243 Sapper H 0, 2/11 th Field Company RAE, WF5 Soldier's Pay Book No. 60431 and Diaries from Tan Toey and Hainan POW Camps (1941-45).

12 Beaumont (1988). 13 Harrison (1988); Macrae OBE, Major I F, 'A description of Major Bill

Jinkins activities up to the time he joined Z Force', unpublished notes, undated; Young, A, "Ambon to Darwin, 17th March '42 - 4th May '42". Unpublished transcript, with attached notes, dated 28 November 1968.

1 4 Beaumont, J, "Gull Force comes home. The aftermath of captivity". Journal of the Australian War Memorial. 14: 43-52 (April 1989); Beebe, G W, "Follow-up studies of World War II and Korean War Prisoners: Morbidity, Disability and Maladjustments". American Journal of Epidemiology, 101 (5): 400-422, 1975; McCormack, G, "Remembering and Forgetting: the War, 1945-1995". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 27: 5-15 (October 1995).

Introduction 15

1 5 Abdulgani, R, Nationalism, Revolution and Guided Democracy in Indonesia. Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Monash University, 1973; Ricklefs (1993); Sejarah Kebangkitan Nasional Daerah Maluku (1977 /78); Soegih Arto (1994); Tantangan dan Rongrongan terhadap keutuhan negara dan Kesatuan Republik Indonesia: Kasus Republik Maluku. Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Jakarta, 1993; Yani, A, Ahmad Yani, Sebuah Kenang-kenangan. lndah Jaya, Bandung, 1981 .

1 6 Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia, 40 Tahun Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia, Volume 1 : Masa Perang Kemerdekaan, Konsolodasi awa/ dan Masa lntegrasi (1945-1965), 1985; Bachtiar, H W, Siapa Dia? Perwira Tinggi Tentara Nasiona/ Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD). Djambatan, Jakarta, 1988; "Gema Trikora ", Edisi Khusus, August 1997; "Lawamena Haulala ", Edisi Khusus, 27 May 1996; "Kepribadian TN/. Pidato Pangdam XV /Pattimura, Kolonel Boesiri, menjambut hari KODAM XV /Pattimura jang ke-V pada 6 Agustus 1962 di Ambon" .

17 Chauvel, R H, "Republik Maluku Selatan and social change in Ambonese society during the late colonial period". Caka/ele 1 (712). 13-26 (1990a); Chauvel, R H, Nationalists, soldiers, and separatists: the Ambonese islands from colonialism to revolt, 1880-1950. KITLV Press, Leiden, 1990b; Gonggong, A, Abdul Qahhar Mudzakkar. Dari Patriot hingga Pemberontak. PT Gramedia Widiasarana Indonesia, Jakarta, 1992; Harvey, 8 S, Permesta. Pemberontakan Setengah Hati. PT Pustaka Utama Grafiti, Jakarta, 1989; Helfrich, C E L, "The Strategic Position", In Bouman et a/, The South Moluccas. Rebellious Province or Occupied State. A W Sythoff-Leyden, the Netherlands,1960; Kruls, H J, "The strategic importance in the world picture of present and future", In Bouman et at, The South Moluccas. Rebellious Province or Occupied State. A W SythoffLeyden, the Netherlands,1960; Soegih Arto (1994); Sahalessy, D, An Isolated War. Twofold suppression of the Moluccan right of Independence. A Memorandum. Moluccan Peoples Mission, The Netherlands; "De voorlopige grondwet van de 'Republiek Zuid-Molukken'. Undang-Undang Dasar Sementara 'Republik Maluku Selatan' " (Provisional Constitution of the South Moluccan Republic), 4 September 1950.

18 Rosenzweig, P A, "Australia Under Threat? The Soviet presence on Ambon". Northern Perspective, 20(2): 114-119 (1997).

1 9 " 1939-7945. The War Dead of the Commonwealth, Ambon War Cemetery" . Commonwealth War Graves Commission, London, 1972; " 1939-7945. The War Dead of the Commonwealth, Ambon War Cemetery" (amended version). Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Maidenhead, Berkshire, 1 994; Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Annual Report (various); Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Visitors Book, Ambon War Cemetery, Tantui, Ambon (unpublished); "Naamregister. Register Nederlandse Graven Ereveld Tantur. Netherlands War Graves Foundation, The Hague; Office of Australian War Graves, Annual Report (various), AGPS, Canberra; Office of Australian War Graves, Journal 95-96, AGPS, Canberra.

/

Introduction 16

2 0 Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Ambon War Cemetery, Ambon, Indonesia. CWGC, 1968; Commonwealth War Graves Commission, "Order of Ceremony at the Dedication of the Ambon War Cemetery and Memorial, Ambon, Indonesia, Tuesday 2nd April 1968".

21 Jinkins, Major W T, "Gull Force - 2/21 Battalion Association, Operation "Good Will", Three Phase Project, September 1967". Unpublished, 1967a; Jinkins, Major W T, "Gull Force (2/21 Bn) Association, Pilgrimage to Ambon, October 1967". Unpublished, 1967b.

2 2 Courtney, G B, Silent Feet. The History of 'Z' Special Operations 1942-1945. R J & S P Austin, McCrae, Australia, 1993; Powell, A, War by Stealth. Australians and the Allied Intelligence Bureau, 1942-1945. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1996.

23 Courtney (1993); Ford, J M, Allies in a Bind. Australia and the Netherlands East Indies in the Second World War. NESWA(Qid), Queensland, 1996; Tahija, J, Horizon Beyond. 'Entrepeneurs of Asia' Series, Time Books International, Singapore, 1995; Tahija, J, An Unconventional Woman. Viking/Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Victoria, 1998.

24 Rosenzweig, P A, "The Gull Force Pilgrimage to Ambon". Australian Military News, April 1996, p.8; Rosenzweig, P A, " 'The Devil's Brothers'. No.1 3 Squadron in Darwin & Ambon". Australian Military News, May 1997, p.ll; Rosenzweig, P A, "Gull Force returns to Darwin & Ambon". Australian Military News, May 1997, pp.18-19. Newspapers (Australian): Australian Military News, Northern Territory News, The Australian, Sunday Mail (Brisbane), TheAge; Newspapers (Indonesian): Pos Maluku, Kompas.

2 5 Grantham (1991 ); 13 Squadron Newsletter (various); Gull Force Association Newsletter (various); Newsletter of the Corvettes Association (various); "Peringatan Ansae Day Di Ambon". Tita Siwalima, Edisi XXXVI. Biro Hubungan Masyarakat, Maluku, p.15; Rosenzweig, P A, "Peringatan Hari Anzac 1997, The Gull Force Pilgrimage to Ambon". Daily newsletters produced for the Ambon Pilgrimage, 23-27 April 1997; Rosenzweig, P A, "Peringatan Hari Anzac 1998, The Gull Force Pilgrimage to Ambon". Daily newsletters produced for the Ambon Pilgrimage, 22-26 April 1998. See particularly Rosenzweig, P A, "Anzac on Ambon, 30 years of Gull Force Pilgrimages". Sabretache, XL (April-June 1999): 3-15.

2 6 Blankfield, A & R S Corfield, Never Forget Australia. N'Oublions Jamais L 'Australie. The Villers-Bretonneux 75th Anniversary Pilgrimage Project Committee, Melbourne, Victoria, 1993; Inglis, K, "Gallipoli pilgrimage 1965". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 18: 20-27 (April 1991 ); Reid, R, "Reflections. 'Up north': the Australia Remembers Veterans' Pilgrimage to Papua New Guinea, 29 June to 13 July 1995". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 27: 27-33 (October 1995).

27 Milne, J, "Australia's links with Ambon". Indonesian Studies, 10(1&2), 1993: p.32; Pattikayhatu, J A, "Kerjasama pasukan Australia-KNIL dan Rakyat Ambon menghadapi penyerbuan Tentara Jepang di Pulau Ambon, Indonesia pada Perang Dunia Kedua". Indonesian Studies, 10(7&2), 1993: pp.18-31.

2 8 Rosenzweig, P A, "Under the Gandaria Tree - Di bawah pohon Gandaria " . Northern Perspective, 22: 89-96 (1999).

Introduction 17

2 9 Ball, 0, "The political-Security dimension of Australia and the Asia-Pacific region". Indonesian Quarterly, 12(3), p.243 (1994); Dibb, P, "Towards a New Balance of Power in Asia". Adelphi Paper 295, International Institute for Strategic Studies. Oxford University Press, London, 1995; DuPont, A, "The Australia-Indonesia security agreement". Australian Quarterly, 68(2), p.49 (1996); Hartono, Major-General T, "National Defence in an Archipelagic Environment: Indonesia's Concept". In, Horner, 0 (ed), The Army and the Future. Land Forces in Australia and South-East Asia. Department of Defence, Canberra, 1993, pp.155-163; Horner, D (ed), The Army and the Future. Land Forces in Australia and South-East Asia. Department of Defence, Canberra, 1993; Lowry, R, Indonesian Defence Policy and the Indonesian Armed Forces. Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, ANU, Canberra, 1993.

3 0 Bartels, D, "Guarding the invisible mountain: Intervillage alliances, religious syncretism, and ethnic identity among Ambonese Christians and Moslems in the Moluccas". PhD Dissertation, Cornell University, 1977; Chauvel, R, Head, Department of Asian and International Studies, Victoria University, "Ambon's second tragedy: History, Ethnicity and Religion". Presentation to the 5th International Maluku Research Conference, Darwin, 14 July 1999; Cooley, F, "Ambonese Adat: A General Description". Cultural Report Series No.1 0. Yale University Press, New Haven; Soselisa, H, "Pela or Pig: Searching for Harmony in Central Maluku". Presentation to the 5th International Maluku Research Conference, Darwin, 16 July 1999.

31 Inglis, K, "Entombing unknown soldiers". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 2 3: 4-12 (October 1 99 3 ); Inglis, K, "Reflections on the Unknown Soldier: The Funeral of the Unknown Australian Soldier". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 24: 6-7 (April 1994); Keating, the Hon P J, "Funeral Service of the Unknown Australian Soldier, 1 1 November 1993". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 24: 4 (April 1994); Londey, P. "The Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 23: 45 (October 1993); Wilcox, C, "Reflections on the Unknown Soldier: A view from the crowd". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 24: 7-8 (April 1994 ).

32 Blankfield & Corfield (1993).


Paul A Rosenzweig

- 2 -

GULL FORCE

/

- 2 -

GULL FORCE

Gull Force on Ambon

Pete Papilaya from the village of Hitawaka on Saparua Island

clearly recalls that the Ambonese were vezy pleased to see the

arrival of the Australians on December 17th 1941: "The

Ambonese were pro-Dutch, so they were pro-Australian " I. It

seems that almost every Ambonese met today has a father or

antecedent who served in the KNIL; Margarethe de Lima, for

example, matriarch of an Ambonese family today involved in the

travel and tourism industry, is the grand-daughter of johannes

Matahelumual. As a young man, Matahelumual had fought with

the KNIL in the Acehnese Wars in northwestern Sumatra at the

turn of the century and was decorated by the Dutch Government

with the Kruis voor Belangrijke Krijgsverrigtingen ('Cross for

Important War Actions') with clasp Atjeh (Aceh)2. The headdress

of the KNIL included a kepi with oval cockade, a peaked cap with

round cockade, and the Dutch steel helmet with a bronze oval

badge featuring the Lion of Nassau. Interestingly, there was also

a wide-brimmed hat which could be worn, with one side of the

brim folded up (usually the right side) and affiXed to the hat

itself by the round cockade badge. This hat looks remarkably

similar to the Australian Army's "Hat, Khaki-Fur-Felt", known to

all simply as the 'slouch hat'. It is uncanny to see photographs of

native Ambonese KNIL soldiers wearing what appear to be

'slouch hats' some four decades before Australian soldiers were

Gull Force 19

known to them3. This history of a traditional and long-standing

Ambonese loyalty to the Europeans, and a coincidence of dress, is

largely unknown to most Australians and was a significant factor

in Gull Force's early acceptance by the Ambonese.

There was considerable liaison between the Australian

command element and Daniel Gaspersz, the Deputy Mayor of

Ambon, hereditary Raja of Naku and owner of the 'Wiesbaden'

plantation at Hative Kecil near Galala. The Australians found that

the Dutch compound (on land owned by the Chinese merchant

Tan Toey) was too open from the air and would be subject to

bombing, so they moved into the cover provided by neighbouring

Wiesbaden. Daniel's eldest son Bill was working as a Liaison

Officer between the Dutch government and the Ambonese, so was

appointed Liaison Officer with the Australians. He was largely

accompanied in his travels by Private Bill Doolan who was

allocated as his driver. Bill Gaspersz later recalled:

Because we arc vezy close to the compound, the Australians built their tents in our plantation, under the trees. So we know them vezy well, and our house is there at the coast, and every evening all who were free, the Australians, they came to our house, listen to the wireless, to the news . . . So we eat together with the managers of the Australians, and so we are vezy friendly with them 4.

The main strategic value of Ambon was the wide bay, which

would divide the island into two but for a narrow isthmus. The

strategic Laha airfield faces the Bay of Ambon on the northern

Gull Force 20

'half of the island (Hitu Peninsula), while Halong, Ambon town,

Galala, Amahusu and Eri are on the bay side of the southern

portion (laitimor Peninsula). Colonel Roach's directive from

Army Headquarters was to put up the best defence possible with

the resources at his disposal, bearing in mind that the defence of

Laha airfield was the major objective of the Allied forces. This

airfield was briefly used by Number 13 Squadron RAAF, which

was withdrawn prior to the japanese invasion. The Dutch

commander, Lieutenant Colonel Kapitz, assumed overall command

of Allied forces on Ambon, and the Australians were dispersed

evenly to reinforce the existing Dutch garrisons. It was a political

necessity that the defence of Ambon was seen to be led by the

Dutch5.

On january lOth however, Roach decided to take over

completely the Bay of Ambon sector, which comprised Laha

Airfield, and the entire northern coast of laitimor Peninsula,

facing the Bay. This coast was divided into two 'defence lines'- at

Eri on the western end of the Peninsula, and Amahusu nearer

Ambon town. Headquarters Company and B Echelon were at

Kudamati to the west of Ambon, with an Observation Post on the

crest of Gunung Nona. The Eri Defence Line was to serve as early

warning of a landing at Latuhalat to the west or on the

promontory itself, and provided forward protection for the main

Defence Line at Amahusu (which was also oriented to deal with

an assault from the west). The rear of the Australian position,

was covered by Dutch defence lines at Halong and Benteng, and

Gull Force 21

the complex Paso Defence Line on the isthmus. Gull Force had no

naval or air support, and Roach continued to submit demands for

additional men, mobile field artillery, anti-tank artillery and anti

aircraft guns, or at least firm guidance on his role (an operational

order detailing Roach's tasks did not arrive in Ambon until

13 january). His appeals went unheeded, and at one time Roach

was ordered to cease sending messages. One officer later

suggested that the Brigade as a whole should have received the

operational name of 'the Shags' for the way it was put out beyond

the secure perimeter without support:

Short of trained troops, with our 6th, 7th and 9th Divisions heavily committed - this was the best Australia could do to ay and defend the 'stepping stones' from Asia, and thereby our northern coasts. But, of course, islands, defended only by small numbers of troops in f"JXed defences, with virtually no air support, and the loss of the sealanes - are doomed when invested by a determined and powerful enemy 6.

lieutenant Colonel Scott DS07 of 'G' Branch (Special Operations) at

Army Headquarters, who had been responsible for co-ordinating

the despatch of these special forces, recommended Roach's

immediate recall from Ambon and volunteered to lead Gull Force

himself. Roach was relieved of his command, and Scott replaced

him on Ambon on 16 january 1942.

Bill and Barbara Gaspersz had been married just one year

when the invasion of Ambon took place - on Barbara's 20th

birthday, january 31st. The first assault on Laha was repulsed,

Gull Force 22

but a concentrated assault with air and artillery support began at

dawn on February 2nd and the airfield was taken by 10 am.

Some Australians who surrendered were executed on February

4th in retaliation for the sinking of the mine-sweeper W-9 after it

struck a Dutch mines. On February 5th, some 50 men were

executed during a 2 hour session near the village of Soewakoda

because the Japanese found them 'difficult' to control. Other

Australians (including the Laha garrison commander, Major

Newbury) refused to fill in the graves so were executed at Tauli

on February 6th. The remaining prisoners were considered a

liability- several were unruly, the guard was not numerous, and

an Allied counter-attack was anticipated - so they too were

executed, in a three hour session on February 20th, and buried in

another mass grave at Tauli.

Meanwhile, the japanese armada swung around to Tulehu

on the east coast and landed infantry at Paso and Leahari - Paso

fell on 31 january, and Kapitz surrendered the following day.

The Japanese advanced southwest along Laitimor Peninsula,

easily took possession of Ambon town, and then occupied the

Benteng artillery barracks, confronting Gull Force Headquarters at

the rear of the Amahusu Defence Line. D Company was switched

from the main trench system back into the supply trenches to

give them the opportunity of facing the enemy. Kudamati was

taken despite a fierce defence by men of the Transport Platoon.

The battalion's B-Echelon was by-passed on the night of the 31st

and the Japanese moved onto and over the grassy Nona Plateau.

Gull Force 23

The Amahusu Line was abandoned during the night and the

troops were ferried by vehicle back to the Eri Defence Line. By

February 3rd it was clear that the Australian position was

untenable, so they marched themselves to Amahusu and

presented themselves to a Japanese Army battalion. The

following morning they were escorted back to their original camp

at Tan Toey9.

The capture of Ambon gave the Japanese control of the air

and sea approaches to northern Australia, and in Darwin on

10 February the first reconnaissance plane from Ambon was

seen flying overhead. The Japanese High Command feared a

counter-offensive and deployed submarines (including the 1-124)

to watch the port of Darwin for signs of a reinforcement force

being despatched to Ambon. Further, they deployed their 48th

Division (to Timor) and 5th Division (to Ambon and Western New

Guinea), which effectively prevented them from threatening the

Australian mainland itself. The more the Gull Force story is

examined, the more inescapable becomes the conclusion that they

were never expected to hold Ambon against the japanese. They

were without doubt sent to Ambon as a dispensable delaying

force - forcing a large-scale deployment by Japanese forces which

otherwise would have been free to continue their progress

directly southwards. Major john Turner MBE later wrote: "We

can take some comfort from the fact that by holding up a large

enemy force for two weeks at a critical stage of the japanese

advance on Australia, 'Gull Force' fulfilled its mission " 10.

Gull Force 24

At the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, a significant

Pilgrimage is conducted each year by former members of the

2/21st Battalion Group, families and friends. In the early

afternoon, the participants assemble by the 2/21st Battalion tree

(just northwest of the northernmost steps of the Shrine), the Gull

Force Association members march in, and then a memorial

Service is conducted, followed by an afternoon tea nearby. This

Shrine Pilgrimage is always conducted on the first Sunday in

February - nearest to the day of Gull Force's surrender in 1942.

And since the 1998 Pilgrimage, Association members and their

families are able to honour the fallen in the presence of the

historic King's and Regimental Colours of the 21st Battalion.

~spite having been taken into captivity, Gull Force was

appropriately honoured for its wartime service in the traditional

military manner through having Battle Honours conferred, the

King's Colours being emblazoned with the honours "Southwest

Pacific 194 2 ", ~~Ambon" and "Laha" 11.

Captivity on Ambon

The Tan Toey prison compound was simply the old barracks with

the addition of a barbed-wire fence and guard posts, guarded by

a platoon of the 20th Garrison Unit (Marines). On 25 October

1942, 267 Australians were taken to the japanese-occupied

Chinese island of Hainan, including Lieutenant Colonel Scott

(leaving Major Westley as Commanding Officer of the Australian

POWs at Tan Toey). Those prisoners who remained in Tan Toey

Camp were increasingly put to work in intolerable conditions

while suffering debilitating illnesses. Pete Papilaya recalls that

Gull Force 25

the attempts of the Ambonese to help the Gull Force prisoners

were not well-received by the Japanese: "Many Ambonese feed

the Australian, but when the japanese noticed it happened, some

of them were killed " 12. Under threat of discovery and

punishment, Pete and his teenage friends continued to provide

bananas and cassavas to the Australians: "Gave them food, but it

was a pity, japan too brutal " 13.

Lieutenant Bill Jinkins and his former batman Alec Chew, of

Chinese extraction from Bendigo, left the camp on several

occasions to make contact with the locals, among them members

of the Gaspersz family. One of their key aims on such a mission

was to collect cached weapons and ammunition from Mount Nona

and hide them in the Gaspersz' house in Naku. Barbara and her

sister-in-law Sara regularly met Australians who were looking for

food, while Daniel's youngest son, Ferdinand, worked at night

with Bill and Barbara, digging holes in shifts to hide their radio.

Bill Gaspersz recalled that they would secretly listen to the radio:

"If we got news, important news ... We must pass the camp with

something in our hands. Then they knew there was something,

important news " 14. Ian Macrae later recalled: "Getting under

the wire was easy . .. I doubt if we realised the real deterrent the

japanese depended on. If any of us had been caught he would

have been publicly beheaded and the Gaspersz family

massacred " IS. Bill Page of D Company recalled the support and

protection he and his mates received from the local villagers

following such excursions:

Gull Force 26

I spent time outside the camp during the night on many occasions ... Will never forget the parade of all troops in the camp lined up and the japanese guards belting and forcing several Ambonese to slowly walk and stand in front of individual men and identify any Australians who had been in their village. One poor wretch stood in front of me with part of his right ear off, blood coming from nose and what appeared to me a broken jaw and cheekbone. He looked right at me. I gave him a big wink, he shook his head when the guard bellowed at him and moved on down the line 16.

Bill Ripper, a butcher in Headquarters Company, had been a

regular visitor to Bill and Barbara Gaspersz before the occupation,

and went back to their home one last time late in 1942, Barbara

Gaspersz recalled:

He sneaked out of camp only to warn us not to receive any Australians for it is too dangerous. So when we were in the house, we heard like someone throwing small stones, and when we came out there was Bill. And he said, 'I ask you not to receive any Australians any more, for the japanese already know that. So it's too dangerous for you and it's no use at all 17.

When he returned to the camp he was caught and executed,

giving his life to preserve theirs. Another Australian involved,

Bill and Barbara Gaspersz recalled, was their friend Percy Elsum,

Gull Force's paymaster. He too was captured trying to return to

the camp, so to protect the Gaspersz' he claimed that he had been

looking for the money he had buried when the Japanese had

invaded. He led the Japanese on an elaborate search to one of the

Gull Force 27

old Australian slit trenches and claimed that the money had

obviously been recovered by an Ambonese. He was taken back to

camp and, together with the various others involved, was beaten

severely and threatened with execution. Finally, some 23 men

were tortured by the Japanese to identify those who had been

regularly breaking out of camplB. Their hands were tied with

wire and they were strung from tree branches so they could be

beaten with rifle butts, iron bars and lengths of timber until they

'confessed'. They also received burns from cigarette butts over

their bodies and in their ears and noses over a number of days.

Finally, on 22 November, the 11 men 'identified' by the japanese

as the escapees were taken into the jungle and beheaded, buried

in a mass grave. Sergeant Elsum was among those who survived

this brutal episode, and was their host when Bill and Barbara

Gaspersz visited Australia some twenty-five years later.

Escape from Ambon

A total of 46 Australians escaped from Ambon either before

surrender or afterwards from the POW camp (see Appendix 1).

Bill Jinkins had led 5 Platoon on the plateau of Mount Nona and,

at the time of the surrender, had sought permission to take the

remainder of his platoon away as a fighting patrol. Within

minutes of entering the compound, he announced that it was his

duty and intention to escape, so Jinkins' was the first officially

sanctioned escape plan19. On the night of 17 March 1942, Jinkins

left Tan Toey with six others: Lieutenants Gordon jack and Rod

Rudder, Corporal Arthur Young, and Privates Alec Chew, Harry

Gull Force 28

Coe and Cliff Warne. Jinkins had commanded the work party

which had erected the perimeter fence, so he knew the location of

the strategic weak point, and they had kept a watch on the

weather for a night when there was a heavy drizzle - when the

guards might be less inclined to leave their sentry boxes. The

Gaspersz' had earlier received word that the Australians were

formulating an escape plan; Bill Gaspersz later recalled:

One day, we got the news from the camp, if you can help Australians to escape from Ambon. Okay, but we had no experiences with dangerous or not dangerous, we have no experience, we said, 1Yes we can help'. We have somebody from Naku, from our village, and he got the task as a guide. My father arranged here [in Ambon], and I arranged in Naku 20.

Bill Gaspersz arranged for Peter Telussa, an 18 year old

Ambonese from Naku, to rendezvous with the party outside the

camp and lead them to Bill's home, as Barbara later recalled:

BiJJ and me, we were already there in our hut, not in the village where there's so many people. We were already in the bush. Then they arrived at night, collect their weapons, with Peter guiding them. Then we had a meal together, then they left our hut, about 10 o'clock at night 21.

Peter and eight other men lined up as escorts, all from the

Telussa and Waas families within the same village. In that way,

as Bill Gaspersz later recalled, "the secret would be kept within

the family " 22 Similarly, Barbara Gaspersz observed: "The

Gull Force 29

rower- two families, fathers, sons, nephews from each other, so

they will not betray each other " 23. Young related the

apprehension they all felt, being led over the spine of the island

to Naku, trusting implicitly their young Ambonese guides, and

recorded the debt of gratitude owed to Bill and Barbara Gaspersz:

We scarcely know what is happening to us, and we cannot be sure of the next five minutes of our lives, but in our hearts we fervently hope that some day in the future we will meet those two good people again, and when we look back, as we hope we will be able to, show our gratitude without any reservation. Surely we will never forget these friends of ours 24.

In the darkness, they clambered down to the village of Kayu

Putih near the beach and were greeted by villagers; "Someone

has handed me two bananas - a friend from the darkness ... This

spontaneous friendship gives us a feeling of safety " 25. From

Naku at about 2.40 am, they set off eastwards in four perahu

boats. Meanwhile, Barbara and Sara continued to meet with other

Australians looking for food. On one occasion, Sara gave some

soldiers sago bread and cigarettes, but the japanese had observed

them sneaking out of camp and had posted guards to catch them

on their return. The Australians were beaten until they

confessed, and members of the Gaspersz' family were arrested

and interrogated, Bill Gaspersz noted wryly: "They caught my

father, my sister Sara, my brother Ferdinand; I was in Naku. But

after a week they sent the policeman to pick me up " 26. The

Gaspersz were uncertain how to respond to the questioning

Gull Force 30

because they did not yet know if Jinkins' escape had been

discovered - if they were being held just for giving food it would

be a simple matter of punishment, but if the escape had been

discovered they would all surely be executed. Barbara recalled

the manner of the interrogation:

So as soon as we were interrogated by the japanese, they were rough with Bill. They were rough with me too ... I pretended to know nothing. And he was beating me with his stick on my thighs, evezy time [gesturing to cut across the throat] ... But Bill was beaten. Because when we were caught, Bill said to me, 'Don't say anything. Deny evezything they ask'. So I denied also, and Bill too, but he was beaten severe, and they just brought me, where they beat Bill, so I can hear 27.

But surprisingly, the japanese did not ask about the escape.

Barbara rightly assumed that the escape had not yet been

discovered, so she and Sara made the courageous decision to

confess about passing the food, and the japanese stopped beating

Bill and released them all.

The Australian escapees continued to Haruku Island and

then to Saparua Island, and then Amahai on Seram where they

were met by the Dutch Controller (District Commander) and four

KNIL soldiers. On Saturday 21 March, Rudder, Warne and Coe

met a Chinese family and took possession of their launch (which

the family had intended sinking to prevent it falling into the

hands of the japanese). Jinkins took the KNIL soldiers and two

other Australians (Johnson and Mcintosh) who had escaped from

Gull Force 31

Laha, and they reached Geser, where they stayed from March

24th to 29th, to repair the launch and stock up on provisions and

fuel; Jinkins recorded, "The Controller was as helpful as his

colleagues generally were " 28. Despite the efforts of Warne and

Coe, the launch would not start, so Jinkins abandoned it and

bought two perahu boats. The KNIL soldiers and the two

Australians set off independently in one boat, and Jinkins' party

sailed in the other southeast to Tual in the Kai islands where they

again received friendly hospitality from the Controller. At

midday on Easter Sunday, April 4th, they set off for Saumlaki on

the island of jamdena in the Tanimbar group, by-passing Dobo in

the Aru group where they had heard there was a rebellion in

progress. They had an eventful arrival at Saumlaki on the

morning of April 14th: they lost their rudder, were buzzed by a

japanese flying boat and two Zeros, and then their boat was

blown from her moorings by an overnight storm.

The ControlJer was reluctant to surrender his Government

schooner Aleida so Jinkins commandeered it for the continuation

of his journey (promising the Controller that he would despatch a

warship from Darwin to collect them). A departure from

Saumlaki was attempted on April 22nd, but the Aleida became

caught on one of the treacherous reefs at the harbour's entrance.

Local opinion the following morning was that she could not be

refloated until the next full moon high tide which was a fortnight

away. jack and Young were unable to contact Darwin on the radio

but they did manage to contact Sheldon and Monsted at Dobo,

Gull Force 32

supposedly partners in a pearl fishery there (they were, in

reality, members of the secret Australian M-Special Unit -

Sheldon was an AIF Captain and Monsted was a Danish civilian -

participating in a covert operation known as 'Project 210' 29).

jack and Young learned that the Dutch Controller at Dobo had

been executed by the Japanese, and Jinkins' decision not to call in

at Doho was deemed to have been a wise one.

The NEI schooner Griffioen arrived at Saumlaki from Tual

on the 26th, carrying the Controller and a number of refugees,

and was commandeered by Jinkins. Peter Telussa could not bear

to abandon such a valuable item as a boat, so he he took the old

perahu and set off alone for Ambon. Bill Gaspersz recalled that

Peter was betrayed upon his return and was arrested:

the Australians got a better boat to make their journey over to Darwin, and they abandoned their old boat, and Peter wanted to have that boat, and he came back with that boat ... Peter was sent with them, but Peter came back and was caught by the ]aps 30.

Bill Gaspersz was already in jail with his father and, by

coincidence, Peter was thrown into the same cell as Daniel and

Bill. They created the story that Peter had been forced at gun

point by the Australians to sail them to freedom, and that they

had only released him when they were clear of the japanese

occupied islands. Peter knew that if the japanese discovered the

truth, not only he but his entire family, the Gaspersz family and

quite possibly the whole population of Naku would most certainly

Gull Force

be executed:

I said to Peter, 'I have instructed you, you must go with the Australians and stay in Australia until the war is over, then you come back and you will be a hero'. But now . . . if you open your mouth you kill us: you kill your whole family and you kill us. Telussa: 'I will take the blame. You tell me what I have to say to the japanese. Tell me, what must I say at this time ... if I am interrogated, what must I confess?' Gaspersz: 'You confess, that you were at the coast, at the beach in Naku, was between light and dark in the evening. Everybody was gone already home, but you stayed for repairing your nets or something. But you were alone at the beach. And suddenly the Australians came out and forced you to bring [them] away. You must confess to this'. Pete was a good, good fellow. And he confessed like that, so we were freed 31.

33

And so Peter Telussa was executed, steadfastly refusing to reveal

the truth of his support for the Australians. Similarly, Barbara

Gaspersz recalled, they were supported by everyone else in the

village:

And the whole village also never talked to them, but they were tortured, they hanged our aids in the village, my father-in-law's aids, they hanged them upside-down. But they didn't open their mouths 32.

On Saumlaki, with all preparations made, the ship's crew refused

to sail the Griffioen to Darwin. Jinkins held a meeting with

selected crew members to encourage them to assist, with Young,

Gull Force 34

Chew and Coe posted at the entrances to the building - ostensibly

as sentries but each carried a weapon concealed under a ground

sheet. When no result had been achieved after two hours, the

sentries dropped their ground-sheets and under armed guard the

crew were marched aboard. They left Saumlaki harbour at

6.00 pm on May 1st, with only a small map on the back of a

school exercise book as an aid to navigation; four days later,

HMAS Warrnambool came to evacuate the remaining Dutch

civilians at Saumlaki. Melville Island was sighted by Jinkins'

party on May .3rd, and at 5.30 pm on May 4th HMAS Chinampa

(commanded by commissioned Warrant Officer 'Chick' Henderson

RANR) came alongside to lead them through the boom into Darwin

Harbour. After a journey lasting 48 days, the party of eleven

Australians33 and four Dutchmen spent a further fortnight at the

Adelaide River hospital before being sent to Melbourne for

reassignment. Jinkins himself flew directly to Melbourne to

report to the Director of Military Intelligence for debriefing. The

significance of this escape is reflected in the general paucity of

successful escapes from japanese-held camps; of the 15,000 held

at Changi not a single person escaped, and one authority quotes a

figure of just 25 Australians successfully escaping from the

Japanese34. Jinkins' escape warranted just one brief paragraph in

the Australian official war history 35, but this exploit has a far

greater significance for the fellowship and continuing aid

programmes it has prompted.

Gull Force 35

Notes

1 Mr P Papilaya, pers comm (Batugadjah, Ambon), 21 August 1997. See also, for example, Helfrich, C E L, "The Strategic Position", In Bouman et a/ (1994), pp.131-132. Max Gilbert recalls, "I have an enduring recollection of groups of excited young Ambonese children calling out ' 'ello Australie' as we were transported through the streets of the township " (Gilbert, M J, "Ambon 1 941-1 94 5. Recollections of a Survivor". Unpublished memoirs, 1993, Revised Edition 1996, p.2).

2 Mrs M de Lima, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1996, 21 August 1997; Miss Febby Bakarbessy, pers comm (Ambon), 1 & 2 May 1996; Mrs D Clifford (de Lima), pers comm (Ambon), 21 August 1997. The Cross for Important War Actions was also known colloquially as the Expedition Cross (Expeditie-Kruis).

3 See for example, Soegih Arto (1994), p.23. 4 Mr W Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998. 5 Australia had initially planned to deploy a brigade group to Ambon, but the

Brigadier in command would have outranked the KNIL commander Lieutenant Colonel Kapitz, and this was unacceptable (War Cabinet Minute dated 28 April 1941, Australian Archives Series A5954/1, Box 561 'Australia and the NEI'; cited by Ford, 1996, pp.30-31 ).

6 Major J M Turner MBE (retd), Mufti, 30 April 1968, p. 6. 7 Born at Bingara, NSW, 21 June 1888, Scott was commissioned on

31 December 1914. He served at Gallipoli (Lieutenant, 19th Battalion), the Sinai and then France (Captain & Major, 19th Battalion, wounded in action), and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for gallantry at Flers on 14 November 1916, "For conspicuous gallantry in action. He organised the troops in the vicinity and formed a strong point, and by the judicious use of machine-guns, kept off several threatened enemy attacks, thereby saving a critical situation ". He worked as an insurance broker in Sydney, concurrently serving as a militia officer until he was called up for Full Time Duty in 1939 as an Intelligence Officer at Victoria Barracks. He had raised, and was the first commander of, the secret Australian commando training facility, No.7 Infantry Training Centre, on Wilson's Promontory southeast of Melbourne, from which appeared the first four independent companies. In May 1941, he transferred to 'G' Branch (Special Operations) at Army Headquarters, and personally co-ordinated the despatch of Lark, Sparrow, Robin and Gull Forces.

8 The Japanese mine-sweeper W-9 sank on January 31st after it struck a Dutch mine in the Bay, and the survivors were brought in and allowed the 'privilege' of beheading the Australians. W-9 was the only Japanese shipping casualty in the Ambon area of operations during the NEI campaign. In addition, W-11 and W-12 were damaged (Ford, 1996, pp. 31, 446).

Gull Force 36

9 Tan Toey Compound was handed over to Rear-Admiral Hatakayama, and for the remainder of the war Kalimantan and eastern Indonesia were administered by the Japanese Navy (Kaigun), with their Naval Command Headquarters established within Fort Nieuw Victoria in Ambon town, and with Vice-Admiral Shineicki lchese as commander of all Japanese forces on Ambon. Java and Madura were administered by the Japanese 1 6th Army, and Sumatra by the 25th Army.

1 0 Major J M Turner MBE (retd), Mufti, 30 April 1968, p. 6. 11 In 1950, the Colours of the linked 23rd/21 st Battalion (City of Geelong

Regiment) had been relocated from Battalion Headquarters in Myer Street, Geelong to St Matthew's Anglican Church in East Geelong. In 1986, the King's and Regimental Colours of the 21st Battalion were laid up in the crypt of the Shrine of Remembrance (and the 23rd Battalion's Colours went to the Australian War Memorial). After conservation work, the Shrine Trustees invited Gull Force Association to arrange a Handing-Over ceremony, and this was timed to coincide with the annual Gull Force Shrine Pilgrimage on 1 February 1998. The only surviving member of the original 21st Battalion, Corporal Roy Longmore (aged 1 03 ), was to have handed over the Colours but was too ill so Rod Gabriel carried out the duty instead (Herald Sun [Melbourne], 2 February 1998, 29 April 1998; Ex-POW Association & Relatives Newsletter, April 1998, pp.21-22; Mr W J Page, pers comm, 11 May 1998).

12 Mr P Papilaya, pers comm (Batugadjah, Ambon), 21 August 1997. 13 Mr P Papilaya, pers comm (Batugadjah, Ambon), 21 August 1997. 14 Mr W Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998. 1 5 Macrae OBE, Major I F, 'A description of Major Bill Jinkins activities up to

the time he joined Z Force', unpublished notes, undated. 1 6 Mr W J Page, pers comm, 12 December 1995. 1 7 Mrs B Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998. 18 Harrison (1988), pp.114-118, 145; Mr John Underwood, Heritage

Australia, November 1995, pp.1 0-13; Mr W Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998; Mrs B Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1 998.

1 9 The circumstances of the escape are largely drawn from Macrae (unpublished notes, undated); Young, A, "Ambon to Darwin, 17th March '42 - 4th May '42". Unpublished transcript, with attached notes, dated 28 November 1968; Mr W Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998; Mrs B Gaspersz, pers comm {Ambon), 1 May 1998; Mr W 0 Hicks, pers comm, 22 October 1996, 1 November 1996; Major I F Macrae OBE, pers comm, 13 November, 4 December 1996, 27 August 1999. See also Harrison (1988), pp.92-97.

20 Mr W Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998. 21 Mrs B Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998. 22 Mr W Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998. 2 3 Mrs B Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998. 24 Young (unpublished transcript, 1968), p.2. 2 5 Young (unpublished transcript, 1968), p.2. 26 Mrs B Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998.

Gull Force 37

2 7 Mrs B Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998. 28 Macrae (unpublished notes, undated). 2 9 Project 21 0 was an operation conducted by the Australian Services

Reconnaissance Department. In this first phase, code-named of 'Walnut 1 ', Sheldon and Monsted had sailed from Merauke in Dutch New Guinea to establish a covert intelligence organisation on Dobo (see Powell, A, War by Stealth. Australians and the Allied Intelligence Bureau, 1942-7945. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1996, pp.61-64; Horton, D C, Ring of Fire. Australian guerrilla operations against the Japanese in World War II. MacMillan, South Melbourne, 1983, p.158).

30 Mr Bill Gaspersz, pers comm (Tantui), 25 April 1997. 31 Mr W Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998. 32 Mr W Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998. 3 3 The seven original escapees plus Private A D Mcintosh (escaped from

Latuhalat with Lieutenant Chapman), Lance-Corporal B Amor and Private R W McPherson (escaped from Laitimor Peninsula), and Private D Johnson. The refugees from Saumlaki were taken ashore on HMAS Warrnamboo/ the following day.

34 Nelson, H, " 'A bowl of rice for seven Camels'. The dynamics of prisonerof-war camps". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 74: 33-42 (April 1989).

35 Wigmore (1968), p.440.


Paul A Rosenzweig

- 3 -

A DEBT

OF GRATITUDE

- 3 -

A DEBT OF GRATITUDE

3.1 Rescue Plan & Special Operations

Whilst being questioned by the Chief of the General Staff, Jinkins

seized the opportunity to put forward his plan to rescue the

remaining Gull Force prisoners. General Sturdee and the First

Naval Member, Rear-Admiral Royle, enthusiastically supported

Jinkins' proposal so he drew up a plan involving the destroyer,

HMAS Arunta, and the Netherlands' light cruiser Tromp. They

were to carry commandos into Ambon harbour and heave-to off

the POW compound, while the RAAF was to strafe Laha

aerodrome and provide fighter coverage. A covert insertion into

the camp to prepare the POWs would have preceeded the

operation, and then they would have to swim about 200 metres

to nets slung over the sides of the rescue vessels.

Jinkins knew the positions of the sentries and the locations

of the remainder of the Galala garrison on Ambon, as well as the

distance from shore to deep water off the reef. There were two

Japanese destroyers known to be anchored in the harbour off the

compound, but the crews were of a poor standard and not

prepared to meet any assault. He knew that there was no

artillery for defence from a sea attack, nor were there mines in

the harbour. An RAAF report from a raid conducted in May

however, noted heavy anti-aircraft fire from a heavy destroyer

A Debt of Gratitude 39

and two merchant vessels, and light anti-aircraft fire from the

wharf, barracks town and coast. The final plan, with hand

written comments and annotations, was dated 2 June 1942.

Captain Nichols, Chief of Naval Staff, noted, "Propose a ruling

should be obtained from GHQ as to whether the operation should

be attempted ". Admiral Royle, significantly, wrote, "Concur, I

personally think plan well worth trying with Tromp and

Arunta " 1. The rescue attempt was frustrated however, when

the plan was deemed 'entirely impractical' by the Naval Forces

Commander South West Pacific Area, Admiral Leary, who

therefore vetoed it. Leary feared the loss of two valuable

warships and a loss of prestige, as well as the consequent damage

to morale. Major Ian Macrae later observed,

Morale at that stage was generally pretty low and would have been lifted by the attempt win or lose and those few who survived years in the Ambon prison can evaluate dying in an attempted rescue or after years of misery 2.

Frustrated in his attempt to rescue Gull Force from Ambon, and

unable to thank the Gaspersz in any way due to the ongoing

Japanese presence on Ambon, Jinkins then set about on a second

plan - to honour the loyalty and assistance of the indigenous

inhabitants of the eastern islands of the Netherlands East Indies.

Most of the abandoned NEI islands had been easily seized by the

Japanese but many in the Arafura Sea still remained unoccupied,

providing 'stepping stones' to New Guinea or even Australia. A

joint Australian/Dutch operation entitled 'Plover' was established,


to comprise a series of landings by small units to restore the

islands' sovereignty, prevent them being used as japanese

airbases or, at the very least, to evacuate remaining KNIL

members, Dutch officials and their families. The Australian

component of Plover was a party from Z-Special Unit of the

Australian Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) led by Bill

Jinkins. Jinkins made certain conditions regarding his decision

making powers: he wanted to choose his own party, he did not

want anyone of senior rank within the project with power to

interfere with his command3, but moreover, he wanted to choose

the island. In making his escape from Ambon, Jinkins had

commandeered the schooner Griffioen at Saumlaki on Jamdena

Island (in the Tanimbars, some 480 km north of Darwin) to make

the final leg of his journey into Darwin, and it was the people of

this island that he wished to thank.

Jinkins was allocated HMAS Southern Cross (commanded by

Lieutenant Summerfield RANR) and Chinampa (Warrant Officer

'Chick' Henderson RANR), and among the thirty men Jinkins

selected were eight ex-Gull Force soldiers who had also escaped

from Ambon, including Chew and Coe who had escaped with him

from Tan Toey. Their mission was to make contact with the Dutch

Controller, disembark troops and stores, and then return to

Darwin with refugees. En route to Saumlaki, the starboard engine

of Southern Cross broke down on the 29th, so Jinkins directed

Chinampa to continue to Saumlaki and await his arrival. Major

Ian Macrae transcribed Jinkins' summary of events for July 30th:


Chinampa entered Saumlaki harbour after sundown and anchored near the jetty, which was about 150 yards long. Henderson was anxious to make preparations for fast unloading in the morning; he had 19 troops and 6 tons of stores for Saumlaki ... Accompanied by a sailor, AB Stone, he motored his dinghy to the jetty and they both walked to the government building. While he was trying to make himself understood to a sentiy Stone saw, as the door opened to Henderson's knock, nine or ten men in green coloured uniform sprawled around a table. After a pregnant pause, revolver shots were t1red at Henderson, who shot back and turned and ran.

Stone's man, obviously the sentiy, called out before Stone clubbed him with his rifle butt and joined Henderson as he ran to the dinghy. After they got back on board, Chinampa moved to anchorage well away from the jetty. Henderson, obviously influenced by the All Clear reports, thought his opponents might be NEI troops, possibly Javanese, who fired on him mistakenly, so he said he would find out for sure in the morning.

At 0635 Chinampa weighed and proceeded towards the jetty which was clear except for a small tin shed at the end. Meanwhile Southern Cross had arrived and anchored where she was concealed by the land. As Chinampa approached, a couple of men appeared on the jetty and a rating signalled by gestures for one of them to take the end of the line to assist the tie up. For some reason the ]ap panicked and fired his rifle thus saving Chinampa and all aboard from being captured 4.

After visiting aircraft had noticed Jinkins' escape party at

Saumlaki in April, interest in the island had intensified. After

Jinkins' departure, a party of KNIL soldiers commanded by

Sergeant Tahija had landed there on May 5th, establishing a


defensive position at the landward end of the jetty. On the

morning of July 30th, two japanese warships had entered the

harbour and discharged troops, who were heavily engaged by

Tahija's troops. By the following morning though, Saumlaki was

in Japanese hands, and it was these Japanese that Henderson met

later that night. Macrae continued Jinkins' recollection of events

of the morning of July 31st:

Henderson called out 'Stand to your guns boys, they're ]aps'. A man on the wharf was hit and a heavy fire broke out from several points on shore and the shed and the jetty. The forward twin .50 Brownings on Chinampa opened fire and the ship went full astern under fire from a lot of tracer and probably .50 ammunition. The ship received a lot of damage above water. Meanwhile Southern Cross moved to join her and came under fire as she did so s.

Southern Cross ran alongside Chinampa, and Jinkins leapt over to

her bridge, there finding Henderson bleeding profusely after he

had been hit by machine-gun fire. After a few minutes,

Henderson died in his arms. Chinampa was taken out of range by

another man who was severely wounded in the upper body - he

was lying on the deck and steering with his feet6. After both

vessels arrived in Darwin on August 2nd, Sergeant Ron Brockie

was arrested and threatened with imprisonment for losing his

code books; he was only released after the leader of the defence

force on Saumlaki, Sergeant Tahija, was debriefed7.

Bill Jinkins went on to serve in further covert operations


with SRD as part of a clandestine war waged in South-East Asia

by the Allied Intelligence Bureaus. In early 1944, he led a small

team inserted by submarine into British North Borneo which

assisted in precipitating an uprising of the Kinabalu Guerrillas9,

and then led a submarine extraction to Darwinlo. Jinkins

returned to British North Borneo two months later to extract the

balance of the force, and during the course of this operation three

japanese destroyers were destroyedll. Jinkins then accompanied

a submarine patrol in the South China and Flores Seas, boarding

native vessels to gain information on japanese shipping

movements12. From December 1944, Jinkins conducted

submarine reconnaissance operations in the South China Sea, and

then commanded a number of operatives in a series of coastal

patrols by Catalina flying boat13. Finally, he led a 5-man party in

an American submarine, boarding native vessels and conducting

reconnaissance of islands between Borneo and Malaya 14.

Defence of Saumlaki

Sergeant julius Tahijals had arrived on Saumlaki after Jinkins'

escape party had already left, and had defended the town

bravely until forced to withdraw. It was Tahija's party that

Henderson and Stone had expected to meet in the government

building, but found japanese instead. And it was Tahija's party

that Jinkins had hoped to support in their defence of Saumlaki, or

evacuate. Tahija and Jinkins later had the opportunity to work

together in covert operations, and then decades later Tahija was

of marked assistance to Gull Force Association in the early years


of the Pilgrimages to Ambon.

Born in Surabaya in 1916 of Ambonese parents, Tahija

joined the KNIL in 1937 and participated in operations against

Acehnese rebels in northern Sumatra. In early 1941, Tahija had

belonged to a Militia company bringing japanese internees to

Australial6, but the Dutch capitulation prevented their return to

java and they instead went into camp at Royal Park in

Melbourne. Here, they became the basis of the Netherlands East

Indies Forces Intelligence Service (NEFIS) 17 and were sent to

Darwin for training. As part of Operation Plover, these NEFIS

parties were primarily responsible for assisting any remaining

Dutch officials to maintain order and protect pro-Dutch elements.

Some were certainly given a role in opposing japanese landings -

at Saumlaki, Dobo and Tual - but they were never intended to

prevent such landings. They were simply to delay any japanese

occupation of such islands, to stop them being used as stepping

stones for an invasion of Australia. The similarity with Gull Force

is striking - the NEFIS teams were sent on secret suicide missions,

with no planned support, resupply or withdrawal, and many

never returned from these covert operations.

In July 1942, Tahija took a 'brigade' of twelve KNIL soldiers

and a Dutch Navy radio operator (Corporal Bosson) on the

schooner Griffioen to Saumlaki - less than three months after

Jinkins had commandeered that same vessel to make his escape

from Saumlaki. On july 13th, a wary Sergeant Tahija went ashore

at Saumlaki with a Dutch flag: he met with the Dutch Controller


Lieutenant Leenaerts and Police Superintendent Altorf, his men

prepared defensive positions, and they jailed a number of locals

identified as having been spying for the japanese. japanese

forces from Ambon occupied Dobo on 30 July, despite opposition

by five NEFIS brigades commanded by Captain van Muyen, and

defeated two brigades (Lieutenant Hieronymus) to capture Tual

on the 31st. Meanwhile, on the morning of July 30th, some 200

japanese Marines faced the full fury of an effective defence

organised by Julius Tahija.

Tahija at first ordered his men to hold their fire, suspecting

these to be the Australian warships from Darwin promised by

Jinkins. The Japanese marched along the jetty towards the shore,

and when they were 50 metres away Tahija's party opened fire.

The japanese suffered heavy casualties and withdrew in

confusion. Fighting continued for two hours until dawn, and

when another Japanese party landed south of the jetty Tahija,

wounded by shrapnel, withdrew his men across to the other side

of the island and escaped in a schooner. By 6 am, Saumlaki was

in Japanese hands and a reward of 1,000 guilders had been

posted for Tahija. After a long sea journey, surviving on coconut

and sweet potato boiled in salt water, Tahija's party struck land

on Bathurst Island and arrived in Darwin on August 16th18. For

his bravery in action at Saumlaki, Tahija was appointed a Knight

(4th Class) of the Military Order of William (De Militaire Willems

Orde), the Netherlands' highest honour conferred for outstanding

courage, leadership and loyalty towards Monarch and Country19,


After debriefing in Melbourne, Tahija was promoted to

Lieutenant and was attached to a secret establishment known as

'Z' Experimental Station, the nucleus of what subsequently

became Z-Special Unit, a holding unit for the SRD. Tahija was

appointed deputy intelligence instructor, responsible for jungle

survival training, and he then participated in covert missions to

conduct reconnaissance, train local guerrillas and lay caches for

future use by operatives or escapees. Julius Tahija recalls that he

first met Bill Jinkins at 'Z' and discussed the coincidence of both

having been at Saumlaki within a short space of time, but they

never discussed any missions2o. In 1946, Tahija was elected to

the Parliament of Negara Indonesia Timur (NIT, The State of East

Indonesia), a Cabinet Minister and representative for South

Maluku. With independence and the integration of NIT into

Soekarno's unitary Republic, Tahija then worked with Caltex

Pacific for the next four decades, ultimately as Managing Director

for seventeen years21. In this capacity, with an extensive

network of contacts, Tahija was able to provide invaluable

assistance to Gull Force Association by facilitating the delivery of

desperately needed medical supplies. If anyone understood Gull

Force's wartime circumstances it was Tahija, for he too had been

sent on a similar 'impossible' mission, yet he had been fortunate

enough to escape, using a similar route as Bill Jinkins.

Tahija supported the Gull Force Association proposal for a

medical aid programme by arranging meetings with the Minister

for Health and Health Department officials, and he personally

arranged the donation of a new generator and X-Ray plant to the


Ambon General Hospital, the servicing of hospital vehicles and the

training of diesel mechanics, as well as providing supplies of

dental equipment and local anaesthetic22. Julius Tahija's

extensive public service has been well-recognised. In addition to

the Military Order of William, Tahija was awarded the decoration

Srikabadijo I by the Sultan of Yogyakarta Pakubuwono XII in

1975, was appointed Commander of the Order of Leopold by the

King of Belgium in 1988, and in 1994 was awarded the

prestigious Bin tang Mahaputera Nararya by President Suharto.

3. 2 Post-war attitudes in Australia

The Gull Force Pilgrimage to Ambon has been an undoubted

success in many ways during the last three decades, but if this is

so, why was there a delay of over twenty years after the war

before the first Pilgrimage was conducted? The first main reason

lies with the veterans themselves and the families, both of those

who returned and of those who did not.

Frustration and Guilt

After Lieutenant General Teshima, Commander of the 2nd Army,

surrendered for all Imperial forces in the eastern NEI on

9 September, Tan Toey Camp was liberated the following day

and the men embarked in four Australian corvettes, HMA Ships

Glenelg, Cootamundra, Latrobe and ]unee. Ken Whatson, from

HMAS Cootamundra, recalled: "Most of them were supporting

each other, and their weights would have been, in the old terms,


about 5 stone weight " 23. Noel Grimes, from HMAS Glenelg, also

recalled: "They were very weak, no meat, no flesh on 'em, and all

ulcerated, and I don't think there was one of 'em that didn't have

some sores of some sort on him " 24. From Morotai, they

embarked on the hospital ship Wanganella which went to

Tarakan, Brisbane and then Sydney, and from here the Victorians

then went by hospital train to Junee and then on to Melbourne

and Heidelberg. The Hainan prisoners, meanwhile, made the

return passage to Australia on HMS Striker and HMS Vindex. In

March and April 1946 most of them were discharged from the

Army.

Many of the survivors retained an inner guilt that they had

not fought longer or harder. There was no fight to the bitter end,

few fell in battle (see Appendix 1), and relatively few were

captured by the Japanese - the majority marched as a formed

body to Amahusu to surrender25. In captivity, they harboured

the guilt that their early surrender may have directly contributed

to the fall of Darwin and an invasion of Australia itself. Doug

Mcintosh recalls that, during the Court of Inquiry regarding the

escape by a party led by Lieutenant Chapman, the men felt more

like the accused in a Court Martial, with terms such as 'deserters'

being bandied about26. Those in captivity had taken some

comfort from the fact that their action had delayed the Japanese

somewhat, when it might otherwise have moved directly to

Darwin but, as John Turner subsequently noted: "Nagging at

every heart was the fearsome thought that the japanese had


pushed on to Australia - that perhaps already they had a

foothold " 27. Soon after their capture, the Minister for the

Army had praised Gull Force for their stand against

overwhelming Japanese forces: "Although they knew from the

start that they had small chance of defeating the powerful enemy

forces, our lads stuck grimly to their task, which was to fight a

delaying action " 28. This statement was never heard by the

men of Gull Force themselves, who carried into captivity and

beyond their personal feelings of failure and frustration29.

Dis a ppoin tmen t

Lieutenant Colonel Len Roach MC ED30 was a 5th Battalion veteran

of Gallipoli; he had been hit on the chest by a bullet but

fortunately a silver cigarette case in his tunic saved him from

being killed. He was awarded the Military Cross (MC) for

gallantry as a lieutenant in France in 1916, and he served in

Afghanistan and Persia as an officer in the British Army. In post

war Melbourne, he commanded a Militia battalion (the 14th

Infantry) before being selected to raise and command the

2/21st Battalion. Roach was bitterly disappointed at his recall,

knowing that a new commander, no matter how competent,

would have difficulty leading men in battle when he had not yet

earnt from them any degree of respect. He had no regrets

concerning his own personal career, which he made clear to his

fellow officers when the news of his recall came through. His son

recalls hearing from one of the officers that Colonel Roach had put

his hand on his metal rank insignia on his shoulder and said, "The


metal doesn't count, but a thousand men do " 31.

Within a week of his repatriation, Roach resigned from the

Army and resumed his position as Chief Executive of the Overseas

Shipping Representative Association. His son Neil only came to

fully understand the events of 1942 during his own participation

in an Ambon Pilgrimage following Roach's death in 1978. Twenty

years later he recalled: "He was ve.ry, very distressed when he

came back to Australia from Ambon, having left one thousand

men in his battalion at the mercy of the enemy, the japanese, and

he was most upset. It was ve.zy difficult to talk to him for over

twelve months " 32. Scott, on the other hand, was widely

resented for having Roach replaced, and the majority of men only

saw him for the first time when he addressed them in Tan Toey

Camp. Such was the attitude of Gull Force veterans that Scott

never once attended a battalion reunion.

Wanting to forget

Walter Hicks served in the Intelligence Cell and as a Temporary

Sergeant in 9 Platoon, A Company, was wounded-in-action and

was Mentioned-in-Despatches for his conduct. On evacuation

from Ambon, Hicks showed his hurriedly written 'memoirs' to a

former journalist with the Argus, who judged them to be too

explicit and horrific for post-war Australian readers and and

threw them overboard into the Coral Sea33. This was one reason

why the Gull Force saga was overlooked - many considered that

the families did not need to know of the atrocities and


deprivations the men had suffered. In some cases, the detail was

suppressed because the veterans faced what has been described

as "a conspiracy of unbelief " about their extraordinary

experiences34. james McDougall rarely talked about Hainan and

he spoke with his ex-Army mates about Ambon with great

passion, but he never spoke directly to the children. His son

recalls over-hearing McDougall speak about the Ambonese people

and how good they were to the Australians; in his later life

however, the periods of captivity came back to haunt him: "in

the last seven or eight years he had a lot of nightmares, quite a

lot of emotional trouble about their captivity " 35.

In the years which followed their repatriation, several of

the survivors strongly resisted any efforts to commemorate or

document their wartime service. Les Hohl related: "I didn't want

to know any more about Ambon. l-Vhen we left Ambon we said

we don't want anything that's ever going to remind us of this

place again " 36. Beaumont noted that, "forgetting has been an

integral part of their adjustment "to post-war life37, and it was a

long time before books by or about Australian prisoners during

World War 2 were published38. Many actively resisted any

attempt to document the saga of Gull Force, and Courtney

Harrison experienced much opposition in his endeavours to

produce his book, Ambon. Island of Mist. Walter Hicks recalled:

Courtney did a worthwhile job in the production of the book, totally without the assistance of the committeemen of Gull Force, who were antagonistic, for lhe main

/


part, to his ideas of producing the history 39.

Lack of recognition

Almost contrary to the attitude of 'wanting to forget', one of the

aspects of their post-war treatment that for many years niggled

at the survivors was that whenever POW camps were reported,

prominence was always given to those in Malaya, Singapore and

Thailand. While not denying the very real tragedy of these

circumstances and the sheer scale of the losses, the Gull Force

survivors felt a very real anger that there were just 347

survivors from over a thousand men, a total loss rate of around

70% - double the death rate in these other camps40. Excluding

the absolute slaughter at Sandakan, the mortality of Gull Force

prisoners was the greatest experienced by Australians, a rate

greater than on the Burma-Siam Railway from Kanchanaburi to

Thanbyuzayat41. Even by excluding those who were killed in

battle, those escapees killed by Chinese bandits and those who

died after liberation, the death rate was still a staggering 62% of

the battalion's original strength. This has been described as the

greatest loss of life from a single battalion in the whole AIF of

World War 2. Further, in Tan Toey Camp itself after the removal

of a number of men to Hainan, during the period 26 October 1942

to 10 September 1945 (see Appendix 1), of the 523 men

remaining in camp a total of 399 men were executed or died- a

7 6% death rate! Rod Gabriel was always adamant that, in

deference to their fellows who are dead, their service warrants

recognition.


Settling in

Upon their repatriation, the Gull Force survivors displayed some

fairly obvious physical signs of their ordeal - the effects of

beatings and oveiWork, chronic malnutrition and a variety of

disabilities42. Bill Page, for example, had been hospitalised in the

2/5 th Australian General Hospital AIF at Morotai, where he had

received immediate treatn1ent for beri-beri, malnutrition,

amoebiasis, anaemia, hookworm and tropical ulcers. In the

bombing on 15 February 1943 he had suffered shrapnel injuries

to his right eye, forehead, legs and left shoulder, and soon after

had been forced to join another work party. In june 1945, he

was buried alive in a tunnel at the Halong Naval Base when part

of the roof caved in, and he suffered a back injury (his mate,

Corporal Noar suffered a broken leg which developed gangrene,

from which he subsequently died on 17 july 1945)43. After his

return to Australia, Page lost his right eye, and received a

tonsillectomy. He was subsequently granted a veteran's pension

for war-related incapacity including cervical spondylosis,

fibrositis in the left shoulder, lumbar spondylosis, and post

traumatic stress disorder.

Eric Kelly noted that the process of demobilisation

('demobbing') was quick, but there-in lay the source of future

difficulties. He noted that 'the system' wanted to get the

survivors out of the Army as quickly as possible, but equally, all

they themselves wanted to do was clear the demob process

quickly and go home:

/


I think that they got rid of us too quickly in the Army. All we wanted to do was get out of the Army, that was the main objective, and they gave us about three months leave . . . on full pay, and then you could go, and we went out to Watsonia. Well, the demobbing, George [Williamson] and I we used to get out in the morning as early as we could and get in the line to a particular part of the demobbing, and you'd go through that se~tion.

Now, all you wanted to do was get through it. You didn't want to tell 'em anything. They'd ask you, 'How are you?'. 'Good, Greal'. And that was written down, that you were great. 'Any complaints?'. 'No, no complaints'. 'Righto', and away you went.

Until 1974 when Whitlam did the right thing by us and gave us the 'Gold Card' for any medical. Prior to that, I've been [to the doctor] with something, and they'd look up [the records]. 'Didn't say you had anything wrong with you. There's nothing wrong with, you're alright', and you'd have to pay for it 44.

They also carried with them the severe emotional scars of their

period of captivity, all necessarily very personal and individual

responses to the stresses of captivity. Initially, they suffered

anxiety about their relationships, their own physical recovery and

their ability to father children, and their ability to resume

careers. For many years after the war, they experienced

depression, restlessness, nervousness, phobias and nightmares.

Many later reported that they suffered restlessness, were unable

to accept promotions, were not competitive and found working

indoors claustrophobic45. Private Barney Mcleavy returned to

· Australia to find that his wife jean had carried on her life as


normal in the expectation that he would come home. She recalls:

When he came home he was ve.ry shy and ve.ry quiet, and right back in his shell; and he used to whisper a lot. But it took him a long, long time to settle in. And he wandered a lot, with his mates and so forth, and we just had to put up with it ... He liked to be out with the boys. He couldn't settle. He worked, but he still wanted to be with the boys 46.

Similarly, their first daughter felt that they missed out on close

emotional contact because their father spent more time with

other people instead of them: "He was there but he wasn't " 47,

Their second daughter observed that, after nearly four years of

disciplined life and regulated timings, it was as if he just wanted

to experience freedom: "I felt that he seemed trapped. He

couldn't stay in one place. It was as if, if he did it'd be like he'd

be locked away, so he'd be on the move all the time " 48.

Rob McDougall, the sixth of seven children of Private james

McDougall, had similar memories of his father, both from his own

experiences in the 1960s and 1970s, and passed on from his

mother. He observed:

He felt ve.ry lost, as though he didn't belong in Australia any more, having been away for so long, he felt like a real foreigner in his own country. And it took him a long time to feel accepted again. And Mum quite often says that he never ever got over the war, and missed being with all his mates 49.


The families

The attitudes of families of survivors has been investigated by

Beaumont who noted that, in the extreme situation, one survivor

returned home to fmd that his wife had borne a child by another

man, but most pre-existing relationships had actually survived

and continued to endure for many yearsso. George Williamson, a

butcher and driver in 6 Platoon, HQ Company, had been married

before the war but came home to fmd that his wife had left him,

so he bought a woodyard and immersed himself in collecting and

selling firewood 51. Staff-Sergeant Eric Kelly came back expecting

home to be the same as when he had left: "I was engaged to a

girl, who didn ,t know that I was still alive, and when I got home

she was married " s2. Tom Pledger recalls that he went a bit

'scary' for a few months, but then settled in alright. He got

married two days after he was discharged, to his fiancee from

before the war, and went back to work, had twins, and has

generally had a happy life53.

While the repatriates attempted to readjust, many wives

and loved ones were shocked at the condition of the ex-prisoner

upon his return, having suffered such a dramatic change through

physical abuse and deprivations. The men themselves were

unable to stomach rich food after years of blandness. They

suffered continuing ill health, hospitalisation, and the appearance

of new conditions attributable to their captivity. Often, a re

organisation of the household was necessary to allow for

disabilities, and tolerance was required regarding the various


behavioural quirks which manifested themselves, such as an

intolerance of 'food-wasting' and the anxious reaction to overhead

aircraft (especially among those involved in the bombings of Tan

Toey Camp). Without the opportunity to send or receive mail

there had been no contact with families for nearly four years, so

the sudden 'intrusion' of the veteran upon his return often

produced awkward situations. Amongst the survivors, there was

an anticipation or expectation that home had 'stood still', and

consequently a degree of surprise or anger that a wife or loved

one had grown, matured, developed independence or developed

new interests - a phenomenon described by a British Army

Psychiatrist in 194554,

Gull Force Association was formed by the survivors of Gull

Force to care for the families of those who did not return, and also

for the families of those whose injuries and illnesses prevented

them enjoying a normal life. Rick Fiddian, the son of Staff

Sergeant james Fiddian who had been executed at Laha, recalled

his family was assisted by Legacy and Gull Force Association:

"Colonel Roach actually was a great friend and used to send me a

book for Christmas each year " 55. Major john Turner MBE was

Welfare Officer for the Association, another well-respected

committee member for many years until his activities were

curtailed by illness.

In comparison, there is no doubt of the uncertainty faced by

families who lost a member. In most cases, families could not be

told the circumstances of death, and this has often been

/


discovered following an accidental contact with a survivor many

years later. The sister of Sapper Douglas PhillipsS6 later observed

that all they knew was that he had been a prisoner and had died:

"For almost 50 years, all that we knew of Ambon was where our

brother - Douglas Phillips - died as a prisoner of War on june

15th 1945 " 57. This was particularly so for those like Private

Frederick Francis Beel of C Company, who were executed:

While deeply conscious of your prolonged anxiety and the profound distress which the receipt of this letter will cause you, it is deemed advisable to inform you of the known information, and as a result thereof it has been accepted that your brother, Private HEEL, F. F., VX26813, was one of those who formed the garrison at Laha and there is no likelihood of his having survived. It is also most improbable that it will ever be possible to determine how he met his death.

However, pending the finalization of investigations in an endeavour to determine the nature and date of the casualty, it is not proposed to immediately record a definite fatal casualty but to make the following entry on his records, viz:-

'Previously reported missing 2 Feb '42 now reported missing believed deceased whilst prisoner of war Laha, Amboina, cause and date unknown' ss.

/


3.3 Post-War Indonesian history

The second major reason why the Gull Force Pilgrimage could not

be initiated immediately after the war lies in the circumstances of

post-war Indonesian history: the War of Independence, followed

by rebellions which continued into the early 1960s, and the

increasing threat of military confrontations with the Dutch and

Malaysia. Walter Hicks and Bill Page, successive Treasurers of

Gull Force Association, noted that for several years the

Association tried to arrange a Pilgrimage but each time was

obliged to abandon the attempt59, as Hicks observed: "All

attempts to gain permission from President Soekarno for a party

to visit Ambon were rebuffed''. And neither did the veterans

know of secret developments on Ambon which were occurring as /

an aside to these various security issues.

The RMS Rebellion

Following the War of Independence, the RMS Rebellion was the

second of two substantial insurrections inspired or spurred on by

remnants of the Dutch colonial forces6o. In Ambon in 1950,

Dr Christopher Soumokil proclaimed the independent state,

Republik Maluku Selatan (RMS, Republic of the South Moluccas),

seeking autonomy from both the autonomous State of Eastern

Indonesia (NIT)61 and the Indonesian federal republic. The date

he chose to make his proclamation was 25 April (see

Appendix 2).


Expeditionary troops under the command of Colonel Alex

Kawilarang62 went first to South Sulawesi to put down the

Maluku Rebellion led by Captain Andi Abdul Azis, former

Adjutant-Lieutenant of NIT. Meanwhile, in july 1950 Soekarno

divided the archipelago into seven territorial Commands to

establish control over the regional provinces. Eastern Indonesia

was designated Territorium VIII Wirabuana, under the command

of Colonel Kawilarang. Particular responsibility for the Maluku

region was allocated to the 25th Infantry Regiment (Resimen

Infanteri 25, RI-25), based at Fort Nieuw Victoria on Ambon and

commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Herman Pieters. At this time,

Soekarno also abolished the federal structure, and in August the

entire archipelago was incorporated into Republik Indonesia.

From Sulawesi, Kawilarang's expedition to 'liberate' Ambon

comprised six military operations63. Firstly, Operasi A1alam was a

preliminary operation in which three infantry battalions occupied

Buru Island on 14 July and secured Namlea (where No. 2 and

13 Squadrons of the RAAF had been based just nine years

earlier) on the 16th64, From Buru, Operasi Fajarwas conducted to

secure Seram (July 19th), including the villages of Wahai and

Geser (July 21st) and Amahai (July 23rd)6S, After a naval and air

bombardment which commenced on August 5th, Kawilarang's

troops launched Operasi Senopati to secure Ambon, with six

infantry battalions committed66, They landed on the

southeastern coast of Laitimor Peninsula on 28 September, and

Moslem guides led the Expeditionary Force directly to the RMS

/


rebels, who had occupied the old Dutch defence lines at Waitatiri

and Paso. The government troops then pushed westwards along

the northern coast of Laitimor Peninsula, retracing the assault of

the japanese 228th Infantry Regimental Group just eight years

earlier, and entered the town of Ambon on November 3rd.

There was bitter fighting in Ambon town itself and, in a

close-quarter battle to capture Fort Nieuw Victoria, the

Commander of Group 2, Lieutenant Colonel Ignatius Slamet

Rijadi67, was shot. Rijadi was posthumously promoted to the rank

of Brigadier-General, was buried in the Taman Makam Pahlawan

in Ambon, and was later honoured with a statue at the gateway

of the Fort when it was occupied as a military barracks. With

relative security returned to Ambon on November 6th, three

concluding operations were conducted in the Tanimbar, Aru and

Kai Islands - Operasi Pulau Maluku, Bintang Siang and Pasukan

Penutup 68. The surviving RMS rebels escaped into the highland

jungles of Ambon and continued to carry out a series of terrorist

attacks, with some degree of covert support from Australia69.

The President of the RMS, Dr Soumokil, was eventually

captured during Operasi Masohi in December 196370, and was

executed by a firing-squad in secret on 12 April 1966.

Meanwhile, one of the freedom-fighters in the RMS Army

(Angkatan Perang Republik Maluku Selatan, APRMS), Docianus

Ony Sahalessy, was appointed Major on 16 October 1963 and was

authorised to carry out RMS government policy under all


circumstances, although he too was soon captured by government

forces7 1• The last 'national flag' of the RMS was not taken down

until 31 August 197072.

The Permesta Revolt

The 'Permesta Revolt', which commenced on 15 February 1958,

resulted from conflicts between the Central Government and

several provincial regions, particularly Sumatra and eastern

Indonesia, again over the question of regional autonomy73.

At a meeting of civil and military officials held on 1 March

1957 the military commander in Sulawesi, Lieutenant Colonel

Ventje Sumual, established a Charter for Overall Struggle (Piagam

Perjuangan Semesta Alam, PERMESTA), seeking changes in the

management of regional affairs. The following day, Sumual

declared martial law throughout eastern Indonesia in support of

Permesta; Abdul Kadir was the rebel leader in Maluku and West

Irian. A mission was sent by the Central Government to

peacefully restore civil rule, but this was unsuccessful. In

response, the large territorial Commands were divided into

several strategic compartments or Military Area Commands

(Komando Daerah Militer, KDM), with loyal commanders installed

to restore security. Territorium VII was divided into four such

Commands, with Lieutenant Colonel Herman Pieters appointed as

the first commander of KDM-MIB which would assume

responsibility for the Moluccas (Maluku) and Western New

Guinea (lrian llarat). The KDM commanders were appointed as


military administrators on 5 July, with emergency war powers.

Early in 1958, the Permesta rebels established four regional

commands and five autonomous formations; they also possessed

a number of B-26 bombers and Mustang fighters. These aircraft

made a number of raids on Ambon, and much damage to fuel and

oil tanks resulted from a raid on May 15th by a B-26 piloted by

Allan Lawrence Pope, an American citizen hired to help the

Permesta revolt74. A series of combined operations were

initiated by the Central Government and, by mid-1961, the last

remnants of Permesta had surrendered or been killed, and

security was restored. To further ensure regional security, in

1962 KDM-MIB was divided to create two new Military Area

Commands (KODAMs) - KODAM XV I Pattimura (with head

quarters in Ambon) and KODAM XVII/ Tjenderawasih

(headquarters in Jayapura, Irian Jaya) - both structured

functionally as divisions75.

Soviets on Ambon

The Armed Forces Birthday parade in Jakarta on 5 October 1962

was reminiscent of a May Day parade in Moscow itself, the

military hardware on parade clearly conveying President

Soekarno's determination to unify the archipelago. This was a

time when Soekarno's NASAKOM - a blend of Nationalism and

Communism - was allowing Soviet force projection to impact

directly on Australia, and its effects were frrst felt by a group of

veterans of the Pacific war76.


Soekarno visited the USSR, Soviet President Voroshilov

visited Indonesia, and then in 1960 Prime Minister Kruschev led

a significant delegation to Indonesia. This immediately followed

Kruschev's address to the 4th Session of the Supreme Soviet on

14 January, in which he had outlined his new military philosophy:

that Soviet offensive war would comprise a deep strike by

nuclear rockets, instead of a land-based invasion 77. Medium- and

intermediate-range missiles (SS-4 and SS-5) were being deployed

in Europe, and perhaps K.ruschev already had in his mind the

concept of using Cuba as a means of striking into the USA. Was

he also looking for such a base in Indonesia?78

Agreements for economic co-operation were made, technical

aid and long-term low-interest loans were given, arms were

purchased79, and General Achmad Yani, Minister and Commander

of the Army, was a guest of the Kremlin in 196280. One

contemporary analyst observed that, during this period, "the

USSR consistently pursued its policy of wooing underdeveloped

nations and aiding colonial revolution " 81. Most notably,

Indonesia became one of just five strategically located countries

(together with Afghanistan, Cuba, Egypt and India) on which the

Soviets concentrated two-thirds of their total foreign economic

aid. With a vision of seizing Western New Guinea by force if

necessary, Soekarno allowed the Kremlin the opportunity to

project Soviet naval power into the region.

For the same reasons that Soviet land-based campaigns had

/


faltered at the end of the 1950s, the USSR recognised that an

expansion of naval power would become necessary if their

campaign of aggression was to continuesz. Kruschev had

sacrificed surface combatants for nuclear missile-carrying

submarines and, by the time he visited Indonesia in 1960, Hotel

class missile-submarines had already been cruising for over a

year, making the Red Navy a true blue-water force. This new

global reach took them in search of 'warm-water' bases which

would not become icebound. The Cuban missile crisis of 1962

clearly demonstrated, however, that the US maintained

supremacy at sea so a massive 'oceanography programme' was

instituted - aiming to use topography and water layers to provide

Soviet submarines with the advantage of 'invisibility' 83. From

Vladivostok and Petropavlovsk, warships and submarines of the

Soviet Pacific Fleet had access through the Sea of Japan to the

East and South China Seas, or into the North Pacific Ocean east of

the Philippines, but further southward deployment was restricted

by 'choke-points'. Indonesia's strategic geographic location

becomes vitally important here, as the archipelago sits astride the

sea lanes between Asia and Australia, and between East Asia and

the Middle East84. The Red Navy, with its four physically

separated fleets, deeply coveted an ability to move from one

strategic region to another - from the South China Sea into the

Indian Ocean, for example- so there was keen interest in gaining

influence in the area long known as the 'Crossroads of Asia'.

As it had been so keenly sought by the Japanese two


decades earlier, the natural deep-water harbour provided by the

Bay of Ambon would have been of inestimable value to the Soviet

Navy. Accordingly, the Kremlin eagerly established an

'oceanography' programme on Ambon. Ambon's assets, ranging

from cloves to oil, have perhaps always been secondary to its

prime strategic position, a feature of geography recognised

throughout history by the Portuguese, Dutch and English, and

which remains one of the prime factors in modem Indonesian

defence policyss. Furthermore, SS-5 intermediate range missiles

with nuclear warheads, launched from submarines within the Bay

of Ambon, could reach throughout all of New Guinea and almost

to Perth. Certainly, Darwin and Alice Springs were within their

potential strike range.

When they were finally permitted to visit Ambon in 1967,

members of Gull Force Association were considerably surprised

when they saw an abandoned technical institute in the village of

Rumah Tiga and discovered the secret and recently abandoned

'Russian project'. The Australians heard that work there had

been proceeding since 1961, and that the last Russians had left

just prior to the Gull Force visit. This was the Fakultas Teknologi

Ambon, an 'institute of oceanography', with large diesel

generators, a lecture theatre, classrooms and laboratories, metal

working machinery and equipment for metallurgical testing. Bill

Jinkins later noted that his party was, "astonished at the size of

the project and the machinery which has been put into this

complex " 86.


The attempted coup on 30 September 1965 was soon

followed by a period of wariness as control was reclaimed with a

fervent anti-communismB7. The implementation of a 'New Order'

regime by the new President Suharto effectively ended

Indonesia's flirtation with both the Soviet Union and communism,

leading to the rushed departure of the Soviet 'oceanographers'

from Ambon. The settling of the various internal security issues,

the drastic change in national posture and the departure of the

Soviets, brought a significant outcome for Bill Jinkins and Gull

Force Association- their dream of an Anzac Day Pilgrimage was

finally able to be realised. When the first Gull Force party came

to Ambon in 196 7, they found the airport still war-scarred from

the RMS Rebellion and actions against local communists. Walter

Hicks recalls that his first image of Ambon, twenty years after his /

repatriation, was of a crashed airliner lying on the side of the

runway, with substantial banana palms growing through the

fuselage88.

After this visit, some sixty Gull Force Association members

and relatives expressed a desire to participate in the first Gull

Force Pilgrimage, which was scheduled for April 1968. Due to a

load miscalculation by the airline company, the Association was

advised that the DC4 (fully stripped, and with no catering

facilities for the four hour flight) was only able to take 54

passengers with limited luggage and no cargo. Meanwhile, the

Indonesian authorities had authorised the visit, but would not

allow movement through Ambon town or outside the cemetery

due to ongoing civil disturbances on the island. The Office of War


Graves advised that there was a tense situation on Ambon, and

that only travel from the aircraft direct to the War Cemetery and

back again would be permitted. With profound disappointment,

Bill Jinkins and the Executive Committee of the Gull Force

Association had no option but to cancel the trip for the members

and relatives89, and a smaller official party went instead.

While the Indonesian connection with the USSR was

certainly strong in the early 1960s, relatively little reference is

made to it in post -1965 publications. According to the biography

written by his wife, General Achmad Yani supposedly did nothing

during his 1962 visit to Moscow but discuss Indonesian ideology

(Pancasila). He did slip away for unofficial discussions with Prime

Minister Kruschev however, but it was "Bicara biasa saja " - 'just

the usual chat' 90. From his various visits to Pattimura

University, Rod Gabriel recalls seeing the remains of highly

technical Soviet scientific equipment that he had some difficulty

relating to the study of 'oceanography' (but was reticent to

actually link to the production of 'heavy water')91. The Soviet

interest in Ambon was undeniably directed towards securing a

missile-submarine base at Halong, deep within the Bay of Ambon,

and the force-projection capability this would have given them

had sinister overtones for Australia.


3.4 Operation 'Good Will'

Foiled in his wartime attempt to thank those on the eastern

islands who had assisted in his escape, after the war Jinkins

turned his attentions to the erection of a suitable memorial on

Ambon. The Australian Memorial at Kudamati today stands as a

tangible symbol of thanks to the Ambonese people for their

assistance. Walter Hicks particularly recalled one family:

The Gaspersz family suffered greatly during the war as a result of their friendship for the Australians, and you can understand the depth of affection and the lasting bond of friendship that exists between the Gaspersz family and us [Gull Force] 92.

Bill Gaspersz recalls not only his own interrogations and beatings

at the hands of the Japanese, but also the execution of his brother

Ferdinand:

I was already caught by the ]aps, I was in the jail for several months, for giving food to the Australians ... sometimes we met them in the night and gave them some food. Unfortunately, they came back here and the japanese caught them. 1l¥.here's the food, from where do you get this?' And they were beaten until they must confess, 1From the Gaspersz family'. That is why my father was caught, my brother, my younger sisters, my brother was beheaded 93.

Daniel and Bill Gaspersz were the main ones targeted by the

Japanese, but all of the family spent some time in captivity.


Daniel's youngest son, Ferdinand Gaspersz, 'confessed' to the

charge of smuggling food and supplies to the Australians to save

the life of his brother Bill, who was newly married to Barbara and

was the hereditary heir to the title 'Raja of Naku'. Barbara

recalled one conversation she had with her brother-in-law at this

time:

'W'hen we were already knowing that the japanese are going to Galala to capture people who gave food to the Australians. So I told him [Ferdinand], ~Perhaps next it's our turn'. And he said, 'Are you afraid?' I said, 'Of course'.' Don't be afraid' he said, 'I will take the blame; your husband will stay with you'. That's what he said 94.

In identifying the significance of Anzac Day to himself as an

Ambonese, Bill Gaspersz remarked, "It means that we come here

to remember the time that our Australian friends were here to

defend Ambon against the japanese " 95. So, as the Ambonese

supported the Australian defenders during their incarceration,

the Australians in later years wished to repay their debt of

gratitude. Planning for a return visit to Ambon had commenced

almost immediately after the change of Government in Jakarta

following the coup attempt of 1965. In September 196 7, Jinkins

outlined Operation 'Good Will' 96, which was to be conducted in

three phases:

Phase l: A pilgrimage of selected members of the

Association to revisit Ambon.

/


Phase 2: Arranging for a suitable member or

descendent of the Gaspersz family to visit

Australia in April 1968.

Phase 3: Arrange an education scholarship for a

member of the Ambonese community under

the RSL National jubilee Commemorative Fund.

Among the stated objectives of Phase 1 was, "Offering thanks to

the loyal people of Ambon for their help to the POWs and those

who escaped ". News of the return visit by the veterans was

broadcast in Indonesian on Radio Australia by Geoffrey Hutton,

who explained the rationale for the venture:

On this twenty-fifth anniversary of the internment of Gull Force, a group from the Association is making a Pilgrimage to the scene of the prisoner-of-war camp and the war graves of their comrades. They also wish to thank the people of Ambon who gave their help - or the descendants of those people 97.

The first party arrived in Ambon98 late on October 24th, and the

following morning called on the local military chief, Brigadier

General Djohari99, Commander of KODAM XV/Pattimura, who

approved their itinerary and expressed his desire for "friendly

co-operative relations with Australia " 100. On the morning of

the 27th, the party presented the Governor of Maluku Province,

Colonel LatumahinalOI, with a bronze replica of the RSL badge

and a plaque to recognise the Australians and Ambonese who had

served and died on Ambon. As President of Gull Force

/


Association (a position he held for 30 years), Major Ian Macrae

MBE led a service of remembrance at the cemetery maintained by

the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and at the Ambon

Memorial an Australian Flag donated by Beaumaris RSL was

· draped over the shrine, which was later donated to the Caretaker

Oscar Tjio.

A wreath was laid at Kudamati in honour of Driver Bill

Doolan, and another was laid at the crest of Mount Nona in

memory of Sergeant Bruce Kay102, At Naku, Jinkins met with

seven of the original team of paddlers who had assisted his

escape, and also the family of Peter Telussa who had been

executed. Then the party set off down the steep descent, where

the body of Peter had been brought to be buried alongside the

Gaspersz family vault, and Ted Winnell and Bill Jinkins sprinkled

flowers on Peter's grave and the family vault. Members visited

local facilities including hospitals and Halong Naval Base, and

visited Pattimura University at Rumah Tiga to investigate the

Indonesian education system. The party had brought a quantity

of medical supplies (donated by Sigma, Roche Tompsitt & Co,

Nicholas Pty Ltd and Drug Houses of Australia Ltd) and food and

milk supplies (donated by the Grocery Department of Myer at

Chadstone and H J Heinz Pty Ltd of Dandenong). Before

departing Ambonl03, Macrae presented Governor Latumahina

with further medical supplies, hospital linen and mosquito nets

which had been flown in separately. The Director of Health,

Dr Soebekti, responded by saying that he was, "as much moved

by someone thinking of the needs of Ambon as by the gifts


themselves " 104.

The primary goal of this first return visit was to renew

acquaintances with those who had been of assistance during the

war. They met Milly Sijauta, their Tikus Kecil who had carried

messages and brought news for the men at Tan Toeyws. Soon

after the establishment of Tan Toey Camp, the japanese

Commandant Nishikawa had permitted Milly Sijauta to operate a

'market' within the camp to allow the prisoners to purchase food

and fruit. For those with no money, goods were purchased on

their behalf using money which the paymaster Sergeant Percy

Elsum recovered during forays 'under the wire'. Some of these

funds were, for example, given to the members of Corporal

Redhead's party to assist them during their escape. The

permission for the market was withdrawn after a few weeks

however, when the Australians' supply of cash ran outl06. Harry

Williams recalled: "We were just prisoners. You were not

allowed to associate with any native people7 you were under

guard all the time " 107. Milly's visits to the Camp provided a

valuable means of communication with the Ambonese in the

villages, and Milly was responsible for passing messages and

news to and from the prisoners. In recognition of her audacious

assistance, the Australians bestowed upon her the nickname

Tikoes Ketjil (now, Tikus Kecil), the 'Little Mouse'.

Similarly, Corporal Laurie Ben vie met with his friend and

benefactor jermais Risamasu from the village of Hatu. Benvie and


Wegner had escaped into the hills from the Laha Advanced

Dressing Station but eventually, through hunger and illness, were

forced to seek assistance. Risamasu and his family hid and fed

them for about five months, until Benvie and Wegner decided to

surrender to protect the family from japanese reprisalslOB. In

196 7, Ben vie was welcomed by over 600 villagers when he

stepped ashore at Hatu. A later report said, "no son returning to

his family after years away could have been received with more

tears and smiles " 109.

Ambon War Cemetery

During the japanese occupation, Tan Toey POW Camp become the

site of numerous deaths from beatings, torture, medical

experiments, deficiency diseases and starvation. Bill Page

recalled: "We started with nice carved wooden crosses when we

were fit and able to scrounge the timber. Then later it was just a

stake in the ground as more died and we got weaker " uo. Reg

Brassey's main recollection was that they became so weak that

they were no longer able to lower the dead into their graves in a

dignified mannerlll. Rod Gabriel is adamant that every man

buried in Tan Toey Camp was given the dignity of at least being

buried wrapped in a blanketl12. At war's end, because its

grounds contained so many dead Australians, approximately one

third of the original Tan Toey Camp site was handed over by

Indonesia to become a Commonwealth War Cemetery. If visitors

are today impressed by the condition of the grounds, they should

note that in 1945 there were no trees whatsoever within the

/


compound. Construction commenced in the 1950s, and involved

extensive bull-dozing and excavation over several years to create

the terraces. The first caretaker of the site was Bill Waaldyk113,

himself an occupant of Tan Toey Camp during the war, living in a

hut at the lower end of the camp, separated by the road from the

Australiansll4. Sergeant-Major Waaldyk had been among the

KNIL soldiers who had retreated from Kudamati, covered by the

members of the Australian Transport Platoon (including Private

Bill Doolan who was killed), and was one of just seven KNIL

soldiers still alive at the time of the liberation of Tan Toey Camp.

Of great assistance to the Australians during both their first

visit in 1967 and the second in 1968 was Oscar Tjiolls, the

descendant of a family which had long ago migrated to Ambon

from Taiwan. Tjio was born on Ambon in 1931 and seems to

have worked on Tan Toey's plantation during his early teen

years, and then as a house-boy during the japanese occupation, at

which time he was supportive to the Australians. During the

vigorous purging of communism during the mid-1960s, residents

of Chinese extraction were required to officially proclaim their

Indonesian heritage to qualify for citizenship, although they

would never truly be considered as indigenous Indonesians

(Pribumi). So, Tjio took up his Ambonese heritage and assumed

the family name of Simona. Oscar Simona held the position of

caretaker until suffering a massive stroke in 1992, and it is

largely due to the untiring efforts of Simona and his staff that the

Ambon War Cemetery has attained the lush beauty that it today


displays. On several occasions, Rod Gabriel and others stayed

with Oscar and his young family in the caretaker's house to the

side of the grounds, and the veterans observed the growth and

development of Oscar's children as if visiting their own nieces or

nephews. Lionel Penny paid tribute to Oscar during the 1997

Pilgrimage to Ambon: ""What he's done for Gull Force, is really

unbelievable, over the years since we've been coming backwards

and forwards. He's done evezything for us " 116.

The Ambon War Cemetery was consecrated as such on

2 April 1968117, by which time there was already significant

growth in the trees and shrubs which had been planted. A party

of nine Gull Force veterans attended (led by Lieutenant Colonel

Roach), a public holiday was declared in Ambon, and hundreds of

local Ambonese participated in the commemoration beside

representatives of the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) and

official representatives of Britain, Canada, New Zealand and

Pakistan. The Director of the Commonwealth War Graves

Commission, Pacific Region, Brigadier A E Brown CMG OBE, led the

service, and the Australian Minister of State for the Interior, the

Honourable P J Nixon MP, said in his address,

The record of their valour will ring proudly down the centuries ... The service of each man whose memozy is honoured here in Ambon will be remembered for as long as this War Cemetery and Memorial shall stand. For as long as freedom flourishes on the earth, men and women who possess that freedom will thank them and will say of them that they did not die in vain 118.


The Cemetery has two components. Firstly, there is a memorial

shelter honouring those who had died in the Moluccas (Maluku),

Celebes (Sulawesi), Timor and Western New Guinea 'to whom was

denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in

death'; the light-coloured stone for this Ambon Memorial was

brought from Gosford, NSW. Secondly, there is the War Cemetery

itself, designed and built by the Commonwealth War Graves

Commission. Each of the terraced banks up to the Cross of

Sacrifice had stonework formed from the broken concrete bases

of the old camp buildings, and are today edged with variegated

cratons and shrubs. The steps between each level originally

comprised lengths of concrete, again from the old camp buildings,

sawn into slabs for the purpose119. The Cross itself was

manufactured from Queensland sandstone, and it has on each face

a. Crusader Sword in bronze. It is interesting to note that this

Cross was built according to a philosophy common to all war

cemeteries controlled and maintained by the Commonwealth War

Graves Commission: as an essentially Australian memorial, it was

made of Australian materials shipped to Ambon in such a form

that a minimum of local skill was required to erect the Cross.

Today, each grave is marked by an individual bronze plaque in

the form of a headstone, set in a semi-recumbent position. In his

memoirs of his 'Pacific War Odyssey', Ron Leech carefully

weighed the balance of lives lost compared to the strategic gain:

"Four days had been stolen from the japanese march to the south.

Seven hundred grave stones were to be erected on this island, as

mute testimony " 120.


Over half of those buried here are Australians ( 1,109 in

total), so the Office of Australian War Graves assists the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission in the upkeep of this

cemetery121, As Lionel Penny would walk along the rows of

headstones and read the names of his mates from No.1 Platoon,

he would sit down and lay his hand on the headstone of his mate

Jim Ga.mbould who died in captivity and think, "What a waste, a

waste of good young lives " 122. Many of the bodies later

relocated to the War Cemetery were unidentifiable, and there are

over 300 bronze headstones simply recording, "An Australian

soldier, known unto God". Bluey Drane echoed the feelings of

many survivors, having known the others personally as men, only

to see them denied a known grave: "It's a tearjerker when you

walk up through all those graves there, you know who's the /

person that's under there but you don't know under which

stone " 123,

A significant person not in attendance in 1968 was the man

who had formerly owned this land, a merchant and planter

named Tan Toeyl24, whose home sat on the main hill overlooking

the harbour. Born in Taiwan in 1894, Tan Toey had come to

Amboina as a small child; he later married Welmance Simauw, an

Ambonese girl from Paso, and they had three children, all sons,

born in Ambonl2S, While Tan Toey came to manage his own

extensive banana, clove and copra plantation, he was also a trader

and businessman, fluent in the Chinese, Ambonese, Indonesian

and Dutch languages, and supplied all manner of requirements,


from food to oil and medicines, to local hospitals and Dutch ships.

For his distinguished service during the 1920s and 1930s, the

Netherlands Government bestowed upon him the national

decoration Orde van Trouw en Verdienste (Order of Loyalty and

Merit). When a large part of Tan Toey's lands were compulsorily

acquired by the Dutch, his name was given to the camp. It was

retained for the prisoner-of-war compound and then, after the

war, was also given to the coastal village which became

established in the area, Tantui126. Tan Toey's old house, built in

the midst of a coconut plantation in 1906, housed a japanese

radio station and offices for the interpreter Ikeuchi Masakiyo and

senior members of the camp garrison. The japanese also availed

themselves of Tan Toey's possessions during this period, and

many a visiting Japanese Admiral or other official left Ambon

with a gift of a Ming vase or old piece of jade jewellery.

Despite the japanese attitude towards the Chinese, Tan Toey

himself was left unharmed. On November 13th 1943, however,

his three sons were beheaded and were buried in the Dutch

cemetery in Ambon. Mter the war, all of the Dutch bodies in this

cemetery were removed to Surabaya, but the graves of the three

boys were allowed to remain. Tan Toey died in Malang, near

Surabaya, on 11 November 1957 and was buried in his best suit,

wearing his decoration Orde van Trouw en Verdienste. In late

1967, Tan Toey's descendants were granted permission to

exhume his remains and have them re-interred on the land which

he had once owned127. In doing so, they recovered his Order of

Loyalty and Merit which had suffered somewhat from ten years

/


of burial: some of the blue enamel was lost from the central disc

and the red, white and blue suspension ribbon was no longer. It

is an interesting coincidence that the body of Tan Toey returned

to Ambon, to the village named in his honour, in the same year

that the first Gull Force veterans returned. The bodies of Tan

Toey's three executed sons were also relocated to join their

father, the four of them today lying in peace not thirty metres

from the graves of young Australian soldiers.

One Ambonese who did attend the 1968 dedication was Bill

Gaspersz, who had recently returned from Tual to take up a post

as 3rd Assistant to the Governor (Economy, Finance and

Development), which he held until his retirement in 1970. On

this occasion, he had the opportunity of meeting up with Bill

Jinkins again for the first time since 1942. Under the auspices of

Operation 'Good Will', later that year Bill and Barbara Gaspersz

visited Melbourne for four weeks as guests of Gull Force

Associationl28. They stayed at the Caulfield home of Bill Jinkins,

and with other Gull Force veterans, as Bill Gaspersz recalled: "so

that our connection is closer than close, as we say, · like

families " 129.

Ian Macrae led another Pilgrimage in October 1969, with

the aim of re-establishing contact with the many Ambonese who

had risked their lives assisting unit members, and the

descendants of those who were executed by the Japanese for

giving such assistance. Jinkins led his last Pilgrimage to Ambon

in 1979, aftenvards relinquishing his involvement to a new

/


committee due to his declining health. Bill Jinkins' health

continued to deteriorate, and he again found himself too ill to

attend the 1996 pilgrimage; he in fact died on the day the

members of that year's Pilgrimage arrived back in Melbourne.

Jinkins certainly had a unique wartime career. He served with

the only submarine commander to sink three destroyers in a

single patrol, and had held watch-keeping appointments on USS

Harder, Redlin, Pargo and Hawkbill. He qualified for the US

Submarine Combat Badge and, for his participation in six war

patrols, was awarded the prestigious Submariner's Badge130.

Jinkins gave the Eulogy at Alec Chew's funeral in 1995; Walter

Hicks knew Jinkins as well as most, and spoke of his secret war

service at his funeral the following year. In summing up the

achievements of Bill Jinkins, Hicks simply observed, "No-one ever

questioned his courage " 131.

Oscar Simona also visited Melbourne and Sydney, in

December 1987, with a family party of seven including his

daughter Annie and her husband Frans Sienaya. It is an

interesting aside that Oscar has a granddaughter who celebrates

her birthday each year on April 25th. This coincidence of dates

had been experienced when Bill Jinkins had first attempted to

initiate a return visit to Ambon - there was obstruction because

the significance of Anzac Day was not known by the Indonesians,

and similarly the Australians did not know of a rebellion which

had occurred on Ambon, launched on April 25th.

/


Notes

1

2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

10 11

Ford {1996), pp.120-121; Macrae OBE, Major IF, 'A description of Major Bill Jinkins activities up to the time he joined Z Force', unpublished notes, undated; Australian Archives Series MP1 587, Item 11 SC, 'Ambon: Proposal to Rescue POWs, 1942'. Macrae (unpublished notes, undated). Jinkins was irate when he found correspondence dealing with Plover which indicated the existence of a Dutch officer with seniority over him (Macrae, unpublished notes, undated). In fact, 'Plover' was a bigger operation than just Jinkins' component. Rear-Admiral Coster, Commander-in-Chief Netherlands Forces in Australia, had allocated command of Plover to Captain L B N Edwards van Muyen, who himself commanded five NEFIS brigades which went to Dobo (Wama Island, Aru group; occupied by the Japanese on 30 July 1942). It is presumed that van Muyen would have taken command locally on successful conclusion of the occupation. As a result of Jinkins' protests, all subsequent correspondence regarding the Australian participation in Plover was addressed directly to Jinkins. The KNIL components of Plover maintained direct contact with their headquarters in Melbourne (see Ford, 1996, pp.122-124). Macrae (unpublished notes, undated). Macrae (unpublished notes, undated). Jinkins signalled the Naval Officer in Charge in Darwin, "Immediate. Landing opposed at Saumlaki" and reported that Warrant Officer Henderson had been killed, Lieutenant Anderson, Able Seaman Frinsdorf and one AIF commando (Macquire) were wounded. Lieutenant Keith Grant RANVR took command of Chinampa for the journey back to Darwin, and Warrant Officer Henderson was buried at sea south of the T animbar Islands. Tahija (1995), pp.51-52. See Powell (1996), pp.173-181, 302. In Operation 'Python 2', Jinkins led a six-man party (including Gull Force veterans and fellow escapees, W02 Chew and Sergeant Neil) in the submarine USS Tinosa to British North Borneo on 20 January 1944 and joined the main body of the 'Python' force, commanded by Major 'Gort' Chester OBE of the British Army, a former rubber planter on the west coast of Borneo. The force joined Albert Kwok, the leader of the Kinabalu Guerrillas, and assisted in precipitating an uprising. Extracted to Darwin in USS Narwhal on March 5th 1944. In May 1944, Jinkins was sent to extract of the balance of Python Force in USS Harder. Jinkins and Sergeant Stan Dodds rowed ashore at the rendezvous point on June 8th, located the Python party, and led them back out to the submarine. USS Harder had encountered a Japanese convoy with destroyer escort on the way to north Borneo and accounted for two of the destroyers. The submarine sank a third destroyer on its return passage to Fremantle. USS Harder was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Sam Dealey USN: Dealey was killed in action in August 1944 when Harder was sunk off the coast of Luzon, and was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honour.

/


1 2 During the course of this two-month patrol on board USS Redfin, they rescued eight men from the submarine USS Flier (which had sunk after striking a mine) and took them to Darwin.

1 3 The SRD submarine operations were code-named 'Politician', and included patrols in USS Flounder and USS Parga. From USS Pargo, for example, they identified a party of Japanese Marines on Woody Island in the Paracels, and withdrew to allow the island to be shelled. Jinkins himself led the first coastal patrol, titled 'Semut 4'- a sortie from Labuan to Mukah on the coast of Sarawak on 1 August 1945 to rescue downed airmen.

1 4 Operation 'Crocodile' comprised a 5-man party deployed aboard the submarine USS Hawkbi/1 (6 to 13 August 1945).

15 Ford (1996); McKie, R, The Heroes. 2nd Edition, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1983; Powell (1996); Tahija (1995); Tahija (1998).

16 Some 2,000 Japanese men, women and children as well as 450 captured German merchant seamen were brought to Australia on the transports Cremer and Van Heemskerk, escorted by the American gunboat USS Asheville. The Germans were despatched to India by the British, and the Japanese went to camps at Cowra, Tatura and Loveday.

17 They were attached to the General Intelligence section, commanded by Major Simon Spoor of the KNIL, who was also Assistant Director of NEFIS.

1 8 Staff Officer (Intelligence), Darwin, report to NOIC Darwin, 20 August 1942 and Preliminary report by Colonel Sandberg GHQ SWPA, 30 August 1942, Australian Archives Series MP1587 /1, Item 120A "Saumlaki, Japanese invasion of Tanimbar", quoted by Ford (1996) and Tahija (1995). Tahija's escape party comprised 21 KNIL soldiers, 5 Dutch officials, 5 policemen, one woman and two children, and 2 Australians - Sergeant Freeman and Private Lilija, who had escaped from Timor and had joined Tahija at Saumlaki.

1 9 The six KNIL soldiers who had escaped with T ahija were awarded the Bronze Cross (Bronzen Kruis) in a ceremony in Melbourne on 27 October 1942, and posthumous awards were made to those who had died in the action.

20 Mr J Tahija, pers comm, 20 October 1998. 21 Assistant to the Managing Director of Caltex Pacific Indonesia (CPI), which

included the Chevron and Texaco oil companies ( 19 51-66 ); Chairman of CPI's Managing Board (1966-76); Chairman of the CPI's Board of Commissioners (from 1976 until his retirement in 1993). He also served on international councils of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, the Stanford Research Institute International, and the Business Advisory Council of the International Finance Corporation (The Herald, 21 October 1948; Mr P Papilaya, pers comm (Batugadjah, Ambon), 21 August 1997; Mr J Pattiselanno, pers comm (Batugadjah, Ambon), 21 August 1997; Mr J Tahija, pers comm, 20 October 1998; Tahija (1 998)).

22 Dr J A Forbes, letter to The Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs dated 5 August 1971.

23 Mr K I Whatson, pers comm (Tantui, Ambon), 25 April 1997. 24 Mr N I Grimes, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1997.

/


2 5 Max Gilbert, for example, noted when they set off: "At this stage 1 had yet to see a Japanese soldier" (Gilbert, 1993, p.G).

26 Mr AD Mcintosh, pers comm (Kudamati, Ambon), 25 April 1997. 27 Major J M Turner MBE (retd), Mufti, 30 April 1968, p. 6. 28 Army News, 19 February 1942. 2 9 Another veteran further stated that an enduring aspect of captivity was a

sense of bitterness, leaving a poor memory of dates and places (Major I F Macrae OBE, pers comm, 27 August 1999).

30 Born at Neutral Bay, NSW on 3 May 1894 (Army Honours and Awards, J B Hayward & Sons, London, p.428; Wigmore (1 957) p.31; M rAN Roach, pers comm (Ambon), 25-27 April 1996, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1997; Mr I Roach, pers comm, 29 May 1997).

31 Mr AN Roach, pers comm (Ambon), 24 April 1997. 32 Mr AN Roach, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1997. 3 3 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 1 6 October 1996. 34 Jordan, A, Tenko on the River Kwai. Launceston, 1988; quoted by Nelson, H,

"Recent POW Books: a review article". Journal of the Australian War Memorial. 14: 53-56, April 1989.

3 5 Mr R Dougall, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1998. James McDougall died on 31 March 1998.

36 Mr L E Hohl, Presentation on Ambon (recorded by Ailsa Rolley), 5 August 1992.

3 7 Beaumont, J, "Gull Force comes home. The aftermath of captivity". Journal of the Australian War Memorial. 7 4: 43-52, April 1989.

3 8 48 books appeared from 1 980 to 1 989 (Nelson, H, "Recent POW Books: a review article". Journal of the Australian War Memorial. 7 4: 53-56, April 1 989).

39 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 26 March 1997. 40 A total of 22,376 Australians became prisoners of the Japanese during

WW2, of which 8,031 died - a death rate of 36% (McCormack & Nelson, 1993, pp.1, 162-164); see also Wigmore (1968). Another estimate claims 7,412 deaths from 21,726 prisoners, or 34% (Pritchard, R J & S Zaide (eds), The Tokyo War Crimes Trial. Garland Publishing, New York, 1981' pp.40, 537).

41 On the Burma-Siam Railway, some 12,000 men died from a total force of 68,000 (a death-rate of 1 8%), of which 2,800 Australians died from a total number of 13,000 (22%); the highest rate suffered by any single force was 39.3% (Walker, A S, Australia in the War of 7 939-45. Series 5, Volume II: Middle East and Far East. AWM Canberra, 1953, pp.558, 569).

42 See Beaumont (1989). In fact, finding employment was not a problem, nor was retention, but rather the adjustment to the limitations imposed by their physical and mental conditions.

43 Lieutenant Colonel R C Gabriel MBE ED (retd), Statement in support of veteran's claim to the Repatriation Commission, 30 November 1 986; Mr C A Crouch, Statement in support of veteran's claim to the Repatriation Commission, 3 December 1986.

44 Mr E N Kelly, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1 998.


45 See Beaumont (1989). 46 Mrs J Mcleavy, pers comm (Ambon), 28 April 1998. Barney Mcleavy died

in 1986. 4 7 Mrs C Carswell, pers comm (Ambon), 28 April 1 998. 48 Mrs L McCloy, pers comm (Ambon), 28 April 1998. 49 Mr R Dougall, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1998. 50 Beaumont (1989). This comprised a questionnaire survey conducted

amongst Gull Force survivors, wives and widows in 1988. There may, in fact, be a bias in this, whereby only those with stable relationships lived the further 40 years after the war and were available to be surveyed in 1988; further, being able to boast the success and strength of their relationship may have been the determinant in agreeing to participate in the survey. Those whose relationships had crumbled perhaps did not live until 1 988, or refused to participate and dwell on their 'failure'.

51 Mr G Williamson, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1998. George Williamson his new wife Joyce have been back to Ambon more times than he can remember, and now participates privately every year.

52 Mr E N Kelly, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1998. 53 Mr A Pledger, pers comm (Ambon), 28 April 1998. 54 Whiles, W H, British Medical Journal, 17 November 1945, pp.697-698;

quoted in Beaumont (1 989), p.48. 55 Mr R Fiddian, pers comm (Tantui, Ambon), 25 April 1998. 56 Mrs 0 Anderson, pers comm, 7 August 1997; Mrs E R Patterson, pers

comm, 17 July 1997; Mr J Phillips, pers comm, 27 June 1997, 20 August 1999. Phillips, a former member of the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles, was one of the key subjects in Les Hohl's reminiscences (Rolley, A, Survival on Ambon. Ailsa Rolley, 1 994 ).

57 Mrs 0 Anderson, pers comm, 7 August 1 9 9 7. 58 Victoria Echelon and Records, Melbourne, letter 032471 dated 28 November

1945 (Mr J Beel, pers comm, June 1996). 59 Mr W 0 Hicks, pers comm, 22 October 1 996; Mr W J Page, pers comm,

29 March 1997. 60 Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia, 40 Tahun Angkatan Bersenjata

Republik Indonesia, Volume 1 : Masa Perang Kemerdekaan, Konso/odasi awal dan Masa lntegrasi (1945-1965), 1985; "Gema Trikora ", Edisi Khusus, August 1997; Sahalessy, 0, An Isolated War. Twofold suppression of the Moluccan right of Independence. A Memorandum. Moluccan Peoples Mission, The Netherlands. This event is termed 'The RMS Rebellion' by the Indonesian government; RMS patriots call the event 'The Republik Indonesia - RMS War'.

61 This was an autonomous state created by Lieutenant-Governor Dr H J van Mook, who led his government-in-exile in Australia (see Cheong, Yang Mun, H J van Mook and Indonesian Independence: A study of his role in Dutch/Indonesian relations, 1945-1948, Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, 1982).


62 Born Jatinegara, West Java in 1920, the son of a KNIL Major; graduated from the KNIL Academy at Bandung and commanded Brigade IISiliwangi during the Wars of Independence. Kawilarang was later Commander of Territorium Ill/ Si/iwangi in West Java (1 951-56), and then Military Attache at the Embassy in Washington (1956-58). He then joined the Permesta revolt, commanding rebel troops in North Minahasa, Sulawesi.

6 3 " Kepribadian TN/. Pidato Pangdam XV /Pattimura, Kolonel Boesiri, menjambut hari KODAM XV/Pattimura jang ke-V pada 6 Agustus 1962 di Ambon "; Tantangan dan Rongrongan terhadap keutuhan negara dan Kesatuan Republik Indonesia: Kasus Republik Maluku. Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Jakarta, 1993.

64 The infantry battalions (Batalyon lnfanteri, YON/F) involved were: Batalyon Pattimura (commanded by Major Pelupessy), Batalyon 3 Mei (Major Mengko) and YONIF 352 (Major Suradji), supported by the vessels Patti Unus, Hang Tuah and Benteng.

65 Wahai and Geser were secured by YONIF 711 (Major Abdullah), and Amahai was taken by Batalyon 3 Mei and YON/F 3 52.

66 Batalyon 3 Mei (Major Mengko), YONIF 352 (Major Suradji), Batalyon Banteng Merah (Major Yusmin), Batalyon Tengkorak (Major Suryo Subandrio), Batalyon C/aport (Captain Claport) and Batalyon Worang (Captain Worang).

6 7 Riyadi (Rijadi) had served through the War of Independence as a battalion commander in Division X I Surakarta of the People's Security Council (BKR), the earliest precursor of the Indonesian Army. He was then commander of Brigade V of the 3rd Division in the Surakarta region of Central Java in 1949, at a time when Lieutenant Colonels Ahmad Yani and Suharto were leading Brigades IX and X in Kedu and Yogyakarta respectively.

68 For their participation in the various actions in Makassar and Ambon, Kawilarang, Worang and their colleagues received the Military Deployment Medal Ill (Satya Lencana Gerakan Operasi Militer Ill).

69 In 1975, Rupert Lockwood published a story regarding a lugger Captain accused of gun-running from Darwin in 1952, who claimed in court that he had been acting under the direction of ASIO (it was actually ASIS, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service). Lockwood's revelation showed that Australia had established a significant, albeit covert, link with Ambon by supplying weapons to the RMS rebels (Hall, R, The Secret State. Australia's Spy Industry. Cassell Australia, 1978, p.139).

70 Soumokil was captured on 12 December 1963 by 2 Platoon, 2nd Company of the 320th Infantry Battalion - Badak Putih ('White Rhinoceros') of the 15th Infantry Brigade, Siliwangi Division from West Java. Interestingly, Brigadier-General Djohari who, as Commander of KODAM XV I Pattimura in 1967, had welcomed the first Gull Force mission to Ambon, had been a commanding officer of Batalyon lnfanteri 320/Badak Putih (YONIF 320) in 1954 (Bachtiar, H W, Siapa Dia? Perwira Tinggi Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD ). Djambatan, Jakarta, 1988, p.1 04 ).


71 Sahalessy, D, An Isolated War. Twofold suppression of the Moluccan right of Independence. A Memorandum. Moluccan Peoples Mission, The Netherlands. Held prisoner 6 December 1966 to 3 January 1970 and 9 April to 22 June 1975; released with the status of 'lifelong political prisoner', and granted political asylum by the Dutch government in 1979.

7 2 Interestingly, in the spate of violence which broke out on Ambon in January 1999, the RMS 'government-in-exile' in The Netherlands did not seek to politicise the unrest, but instead called on the Dutch Government to provide humanitarian aid and support (Manuhutu, Drs W Chr, Director, Moluks Historische Museum Sedjarah Maluku, "Demons from the Past: The RMS as Pet-Enemy". Presentation to the 5th International Maluku Research Conference, Darwin, 14 July 1999).

73 Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia (1985); Harvey (1989); "Gema Trikora ", Edisi Khusus, August 1997. The majority of the Permesta Revolt occurred in the Minahasa region of northern Sulawesi.

7 4 Pope was shot down in the Bay of Ambon on 18 May 1958 and was held on board the Indonesian vessel KRI Sawega. He was taken to Jakarta where he was tried by an Air Force State of War Tribunal, held from 1 January 1 960, and on 29 April 1 960 Pope was condemned to death by the tribunal ( Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia, 1985, pp.182-201 ).

7 5 In 1984, the number of KODAMs was reduced from 17 to 1 0. The two KODAMs in eastern Indonesia were amalgamated on 8 May 1985 to form the modern 8th Military Area Command, KODAM Vlii/Trikora (Bachtiar, 1988, pp.29-30; Hartono, Major-General T, "National Defence in an Archipelagic Environment: Indonesia's Concept". In, Horner, D (ed), The Army and the Future. Land Forces in Australia and South-East Asia. Department of Defence, Canberra, 1993, pp.155-163; "Gema Trikora ", Edisi Khusus, August 1997, pp.S-9).

76 See Rosenzweig (1997). 77 Moynahan, B, The Claws of the Bear. Hutchinson, London, 1989, p.253. 7 8 This scenario was explored, using East Timor rather than Ambon, in

Collison, K B, The Tim-Tim Man. Pen Folk Publishing, Victoria, 1996 (see especially pp.295-306, 362-365).

79 A TU-16 bomber was delivered to Jakarta on 1 July 1961, and the cruiser KRI Irian arrived at Tanjung Prick wharves on 3 October 1962. These were soon followed by submarines, MiG-17 and llyusin 11-28 fighters, K-61 tracked landing vehicles, BRDM scout cars, BTR 40/152 and BTRSOP amphibious armoured personnel carriers, PT -76 light amphibious tanks, and a considerable quantity of other communist-bloc weapons. And then, with the support of Soviet technical expertise, the Indonesian Army produced its first rocket in December 1963. In addition to the arms and technical support, from 1962 several Indonesian officers attended Staff

·College in Yugoslavia and the Frunze Academy in Moscow (Bachtiar (1988), pp.S0-53; Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia (1985), pp.226-235).

80 Yani (1981 ), p.237-240. 81 Raymond, E, The Soviet State. Macmillan, New York, 1968, p.168.


82 Suvorov, V, Inside the Soviet Army. Hamish Hamilton, London, 1982, p.88. 83 Moynahan, B, The Claws of the Bear. Hutchinson, London, 1989, p.364. 84 See Hartono (1993), pp.1 55-163; Lowry, R, Indonesian Defence Policy

and the Indonesian Armed Forces. Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, ANU, Canberra, 1993.

85 See Hartono (1993), pp.1 55-163. 8 6 Jinkins, Major W T, "Gull Force (2121 Bn) Association, Pilgrimage to

Ambon, October 1967". Unpublished, 1967. The laboratory buildings built by the Soviets today comprise the Technology Faculty of Pattimura University, and the staff housing still accommodates university lecturers and their families. One main building still carries old Russian fuse-boxes on its walls, while another laboratory contains a ship steering mechanism, with a power distribution panel dated 1963.

8 7 The 'loss' of Ambon as a port was actually of little consequence to the Red Navy for, following the fall of Saigon in 1975, they gained a new warmwater port at Cam Ranh Bay. From here, warships and missile submarines could deploy directly into the South China Sea and, if the Kremlin's intentions were ever doubted, the base was soon upgraded to include missile storage depots (Moynahan, 1989, p.367).

88 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 25 April 1996. 89 Major I F Macrae OBE (retd), pers comm, 25 March 1997; Major

J M Turner MBE (retd), Mufti, 30 April 1968, p. 6. 90 Yani (1981), p.237. 91 Lieutenant Colonel R C Gabriel MBE ED (retd), pers comm (Ambon),

29 April 1997. 92 Mr W J Hicks, pers comm, 29 May 1997. 93 Mr W Gaspersz, pers comm (Tantui, Ambon), 25 April 1997. 94 Mrs B Gaspersz, pers comm (Tantui, Ambon), 25 April 1997. 95 Mr W Gaspersz, pers comm (Tantui, Ambon), 25 April 1997. 96 Jinkins, Major W T, "Gull Force - 2/21 Battalion Association, Operation

"Good Will", Three Phase Project, September 1967". Unpublished, 1967a. Operation 'Good Will' was approved by the Executive Committee of the Gull Force 2/21 st Battalion Association. Jinkins had also sought and obtained the strong support of the Victorian Branch of the RSL through a sub-committee headed by Bruce Ruxton. Preparations and arrangements were channelled through the Department of External Affairs to the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, where approvals were sought and final arrangements made with the Indonesian Government.

97 Jinkins, Major W T, "Gull Force (2/21 Bn) Association, Pilgrimage to Ambon, October 1967". Unpublished, 1 967b.

9 8 This party comprised Major lan Macrae, Laurie Benvie, Walter Hicks and Bill Jinkins, in a chartered Cessna 310 (which was diverted to Kupang). The second party (Bob Mathews, Clem Righetti, Jim Rogers and Ted Winnell) went in a T M Fokker Friendship which flew as planned via Bacau in Portuguese Timor, and arrived in Ambon soon after midday on the 25th.


99 An infantry officer, a ve.teran of the War of Independence and three times a battalion commander in the Siliwangi Division based in West Java (1949 to 1955). Brigadier-General Djohari was the third Panglima (Commander) of KODAM XV/Pattimura, from 15 February 1966 to 28 August 1968. (Bachtiar, 1988, p.1 04).

100 Jinkins (unpublished, 1967b). 1 0 1 Colonel G J Latumahina had previously served as an envoy and Military

Attache in Peking. He was the fourth Governor of Maluku (Gubernor Kepala Daerah Tingkat I Maluku), 1965-68.

102 Jinkins (unpublished, 1967b). 1 0 3 Four of the Pilgrimage group departed early, on October 31st, by charter

aircraft via Bacau and Darwin. The remaining party left Ambon on November 1 st and again travelled via Bacau to Darwin, and thence on a T AA flight via Mt lsa, Brisbane and Sydney to Merboume.

104 Report by Major I F Macrae OBE, In Jinkins (unpublished, 1967b), Section 8, p.1.

105 Mr W J Hicks, pers comm, 29 May 1997. Milly Sijauta was a significant witness at the Ambon War Crimes Triars, particularly regarding the 'Garden Party' massacre. Through her association with the Australians and Americans in the camp, she saw that 1967 vtsit as her chance to relocate, and took every opportunity to seek out any of the veterans who might still be single!

106 Jinkins (unpublished, 1967b), annotations by Walter Hicks circa 1996. 1 07 Mr J H Williams, pers comm (Laha), 27 April 1 996. 108 Wegner later died in captivity on Hainan on 23 June 1945. 109 Denis Warner, "Ambon Remembered". Sunday Mail (Brisbane),

17 November 1974. 110 Mr W J Page, TheAge, 25 April 1992. 111 Mr Reg Brassey, pers comm, 24-25 April 1993. 112 Lieutenant Colonel R C Gabriel MBE ED (retd), pers comm, 3 May 1996. 113 Mrs B Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998; Mr W Gaspersz, pers

comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998; Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 5 August 1997. After his duty as Caretaker of the War Graves, Waaldyk settled in Holland with his Ambonese wife, of Dutch descendency, and children; they subsequently came to Australia to live, and later keenly welcomed Bill and Barbara Gaspersz when they visited.

114 The KNIL soldiers' wives and children (some 250 in total) were made to live in a compound on the outskirts of Ambon town, and their old brick homes were occupied by horses and donkeys. The majority of the Dutch prisoners were removed to Hainan with the Australians in October 1942 and their wives and children were moved into the vacant huts, but in November 1 942 the Japanese established a bomb dump just 7 5 feet from these huts. Many of the Dutch women and children were wounded and 27 were killed instantly when this dump was hit by Allied bombs on 15 February 1943. The surviving women and children were taken to Bethany Church in Ambon, and two weeks later were removed to Makassar (now Ujung Pandang) in Sulawesi.


11 5 Mr L J Penny, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1997; Miss Smarce Sienaya and family, pers comm (various) (Ambon and Wayame), 25-30 April 1996; pers comm (various) (Wayame, Ambon) 24 April-1 May 1997 .

116 Mr L J Penny, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1997. 117 "Ambon War Cemetery, Ambon, Indonesia". Commonwealth War Graves

Commission booklet, 1968; "Order of Ceremony at the Dedication of the Ambon War Cemetery and Memorial, Ambon, Indonesia, 2nd April 1968". Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 1968.

118 "Ambon War Cemetery, Ambon, Indonesia". Commonwealth War Graves Commission booklet, 1968.

11 9 In more recent years, these have been replaced by granite steps. 120 Leech (1 995), p.65. 1 21 This is one of five such commitments by the Office of Australian War Graves,

including the UN Memorial Cemetery in Korea, graves and memorials in Malaysia, the Japanese War Cemetery at Cowra, NSW and the German War Cemetery at T atura, Victoria.

122 Mr L J Penny, pers comm, 2 July 1996. VX23661 Signaller Birdwood Douglas Gambould, died in captivity at Tan Toey on 24 July 1945.

1 2 3 Mr H F Drane, pers comm, 27 April 1996. 124 Mr L J Penny, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1997; Mrs Sientje

Simauw, pers comm (Tantui, Ambon), 30 April 1997 and family records; Miss Golda Simauw, pers comm (Tantui, Ambon), 30 April 1997.

125 Tan Sie Lay (born 2 October 1 916), Tan Eng Sui (born 12 February 1 918) and Tan Eng Siong (born 16 September 1920).

126 Tan Toey was converted into the modern Indonesian form, Tantui, following the standardisation of the language in 1972.

127 Tan Toey's two grandchildren still living in Ambon (Tan Kian Seng and Tan Sie Nio), the son and daughter of his first-born son Tan Sie Lay and his wife Que An Neo (born 13 May 1916; died in Ambon 9 May 1983), were forced to change their name to qualify for Indonesian citizenship, so they assumed the family name of their Ambonese grandmother, Welmance Simauw, and thus became Sientje Simauw and lzak Willem Simauw, establishing new families in Ambon yet perpetuating the line of Tan Toey. Tan Toey's burial site is today within the Taman Makam Bahagia (Indonesian Public Cemetery).

128 The Herald (Melbourne), 2 November 1968. 129 Mr W Gaspersz, pers comm (Tantui), 25 April 1997. 130 Powell (1996), pp.173, 178. 1 31 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 11 February 1997.


Paul A Rosenzweig

- 4 -

PILGRIMAGE - ZIARAH

- 4 -

PILGRIMAGE- ZIARAH

4.1 The Gull Force Association Pilgrimage

Today, a group of Australian veterans returns to Ambon each

yearl, but this is not simply a reunion. It has come to have a

greater emotional, even spiritual, significance and the organisers

are adamant that it truly is a Pilgrimage- to both pay respect to

the fallen and to thank those who provided assistance. The

Indonesians have a term for such a journey, incorporating all of

the spiritualistic undertones associated with such a visit to a holy

place - ziarah.

Despite the significance of Remembrance (Armistice) Day

throughout Commonwealth nations, Anzac Day has increasingly

become the national day for reunion in Australia. Most

ex-service organisations focus on a unit reunion each Anzac Day

although other significant reunion activities have been conducted,

most notably the pilgrimages to commemorate key anniversaries

of the Dardanelles landing in 1965 and again in 19902. Similarly,

there was a pilgrimage by veterans on the 50th Anniversary of

the Greek campaign3, and veterans of the D-Day assault returned

to Normandy in 1994 and received a French commemorative

medal4. During the 'Australia Remembers' campaign, a pilgrimage

was conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs to

commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the Pacific

Pilgrimage - Z i a r a h 92

wars. More specific visits have occurred on occasion6, and there

are also broader-based battlefield tours available - one such tour

is promoted as offering "the opportunity for personal exploration

of sites of signiflcance and Australian memories and meanings to

provide individual enrichment and reflection " 7. Each of these

activities has been called a 'pilgrimage' to denote that it was a

special journey, but it could be argued that each was only truly a

'pilgrimage' for certain participants. By definition, a Pilgrimage is

conducted by people searching for something, or looking for a

renewal of their faith, such as the haji who make the hajj and

umroh to Mecca, and Chaucer's faithful on horseback heading to

Canterbury. At the unveiling of a memorial on the former site of

the Sandakan prisoner-of-war camp in March 1999, the

attendance by Owen Campbell BEM could be described as a

Pilgrimage. The last remaining survivor of the Borneo death

marches, Campbell attended to make his final farewell to his

mates - among them, men who had died of disease, exhaustion

and beatings8.

One aspect which emerges clearly from the various

Australian 'pilgrimages' is that one commemorative service is

largely the same as the next, in structure and procedure, with the

recitations like incantations of cliches. This is particularly so

when there is a number of them at series of sites, as was the case

in the 'Australia Remembers' itinerary. What adds true

sacredness to the visit however, and gives it the form of a

Pilgrimage, is the creation of a personal link. In 1995, for


example, the Ode of Remembrance was recited on the deck of a

cruise ship by an Australian Merchant Navy veteran - the same

words which have been repeated countless times, and were

mouthed silently by everyone present. But the moment gained a

special sacredness when it was known that the man reciting the

Ode was honouring his best mate who lay under the sea beneath

him, entombed in the wreck of the hospital ship Centaur 9.

The Laha Memorial

The annual Gull Force Association Pilgrimage commences

immediately on arrival on April 24th with a visit to the Laha

Memorial in the village of Tawiri, near the site of the wartime

Laha airfieldlO. After the liberation of Tan Toey Camp, four mass

graves had been identified at Lahall and two monuments with

heavy brass plaques were erected here by Ambon Force

occupation troops on 1 January 1946 to commemorate those who

were executed. During the 196 7 visit, they were rediscovered in

scrubland, both dirty and deeply stained. An aerial survey was

permitted in 1979 by the Commander of KODAM XV I Pattimura,

Brigadier Bagus Soemitro12, and in 1980 a ground survey team

renovated one of the memorials and installed a replacement

plaque (the original plaque was presented to the Australian War

Memorial Canberra). With the assistance of the Australian

Embassy, Jakarta, this monument was rendered over and painted,

given a red-brick paved area and fenced off from the village of

Tawiri 13. These memorials are special because they symbolise

the loss of life at the hands of Japanese executioners, and honour


men who were not accorded an honourable burial and individual

marked grave - a fifth of the whole force. Pilgrimage leader Rod

Gabriel did not mince his words when he spoke of the events

that took place here after the Australians had surrendered:

"There was NOT a survivor "14.

'Bluey' Drane sees three purposes in his return visits to

Ambon. The first is personal, to honour his mates who died, and

the second is to thank the Ambonese who provided assistance.

The third is perhaps his more public duty, as he is now the only

living survivor from the battle and executions at Laha: "I'm the

only one that was at Laha that's likely to come back on a

pilgrimage, so I feel that I've got a duty on Anzac Day to stand up

and be counted " 15. The brief commemoration service at Tawiri

has created a genuine atmosphere of reverence among the

villagers, and an element of 'sacredness' has been conferred upon

the site. While their graves are at Tantui, for the Gull Force men

executed at Laha this is where their essences were mouldered

into the soil of Ambon. For the relatives and friends of men

killed at Laha, the memorial and commemorative service

provides a sense of relief in knowing of their fate, often after

several decades of simply knowing that their brother, father or

uncle had 'died overseas' and had no grave.

Ambon War Cemetery

During the 1996 Anzac Day Service, a light shower of rain began

falling on the assembled veterans, dignitaries and the catafalque


party resting in the arms-reversed position of respect. The

officiating padre simply called on his congregation to, "suffer a

slight inconvenience in a place where men once suffered great

inconvenience " 16. This annual Anzac Day Service is conducted

in both Indonesian and English, and Guards of Honour are

provided by members of Northern Command (NORCOM) in Darwin

and local members of the Indonesian Armed Forces.

The transition of the Tan Toey Camp site - from barracks to

POW camp to war cemetery - is perhaps a unique history for a

single plot of land. The entrance is through a pair of bronze gates,

standing at the approximate site of the old road which ran

through the camp. Inside, on the two columns built from

Australian stone, are two plaques (one in English and the other in

Indonesian) which acknowledge the land as a perpetual gift from

the people of Indonesia. Inside, there is a War Memorial Shelter

on the 1st Terrace which contains the Shrine and two large

bronze plaques bearing the names of 460 Australian Service

personnel (171 RAAF and 289 Army) with no known grave.

Among them are listed those executed at Laha; from the bodies

exhumed from the mass graves, a few bones were allocated to

each soldier's burial place at Tan Toey, which today lie beneath

bronze plaques bearing the inscription, 'An Australian Soldier,

Known unto God'.

In particular, there are ten such headstones in a line within

the Ambon War Cemetery, with a gap at either end. In November

/


1942, the japanese had taken 23 men to a hill after Australians

had been seen outside the camp searching for food, and eleven of

them had never returned to the camp. For a long time their fate

remained a mystery, but it is now known that they had been

taken into the jungle and tied up with wire, beaten and beheaded

on 22 November. Immediately after the war, a party of

Australians was taken to Batu Merah and shown a grave with a

headboard bearing the names of the men, with twelve bodies

buried there in a mass grave (the eleven Australians and one

Ambonese villager). Only one of the bodies could be positively

identified so he was given his own grave at Tan Toey (Private

Peter james O'Donoghue, Plot 18-D-6). The remains of the other

ten men were buried together, with a gap at either end of the ten

headstones signifying their burial in a single collective grave.

There are then two more terraces with graves before the /

main terrace where the Cross of Sacrifice stands. The cemetery,

covering a total area of 4 hectares, contains the graves of 2,146

Service personnel from Australia, New Zealand, England, the

Netherlands and India17. In particular, there are 694 members of

Gull Force buried here, and a separate monument was later

erected just outside the grounds to acknowledge this. Eric Kelly

summarised one of the reasons for returning as often as they can:

To me it is a moving ceremony, when I stand at the Cenotaph and look beyond at the rows of headstones, my thoughts are for the 700 that lie there, and that but for the Grace of God I could have been one of them 18.

Pilgrimage - Ziarah 97

Australian Memorial, Kudamati

Immediately following the Anzac Day Service each year, the

Pilgrimage participants visit the Australian Memorial at

Kudamati. This memorial has for some time been the subject of

some controversy through being referred to as 'the Doolan

Memorial' (see the following section). The memorial was unveiled

by the Governor of Maluku on 2 April 1968, on a site where

Australians had made a stand against the Japanese, to

commemorate the first return visit by members of Gull Force

Association in 196 7. The villagers of Kudamati had donated the

land, the memorial had been designed at the Bandung Technical

Institute, and the erection of the monument and its surrounding

fences and gates was carried out by local Ambonese. On the

monument itself were installed the bronze plaque and RSL badge

which the first Gull Force party had presented to the Governor in

October the year before. Having been unable to effect such a

gesture during the war, it was Bill Jinkins' intention that this

memorial would honour the bravery of all members of Gull Force

and recognise the friendship of the Ambonese, many of whom

were executed.

During the 1997 Pilgrimage, the Australian Ambassador

acknowledged the role of the Ambonese and the contribution

they made to Australian history: "They also died, and they also

died helping our men " 19. Of the Ambonese people, signaller

Lionel Penny reflected: "It was their loyalty we most

appreciated " 20. Ron Leech related one example of loyalty

Pilgrimage ~ Z i a r a h 98

which he witnessed three days after an air raid: "an Ambonese

girl passing along the road which passed between the Dutch POWs

and us, at great danger to herself, threw through the fence an

identiflcation disk and a note which told us some Ambonese had

recovered an Australian body and buried it, without japanese

knowledge " 21. One of the tasks allocated to the Australian

prisoners was the construction of large oil and water tanks22, and

Pete Papilaya recalls that he and his friends would watch the

Australians working at Batugadjah:

When they [the Ambonese] were looking for yabbies, it is a common practice to, evezy day or once evezy two days, they give food to Australian soldiers. The Ambonese know where the place where the Australian work, because there were no food, Australians couldn't get the food, so they give the food 23.

The Ambonese offered the Australians a variety of other foods

including cassava, sago, banana, coconut and dried fish, using

deception parties to distract the guards: "But of course if the

japanese knew all about it, they would be killed " 24. Papilaya

recalled that his uncle, Frederick Mahulete, was a former KNIL

soldier employed by the japanese as a driver:

He used to, took the messages from Australia, in his shoes. But japanese rmally knew all about it. japanese had a feeling, 'Why Australian knew all their secrets?'. So they had a sweeping, screening; everybody took off their shoes. He [the guard] found the message near his ankle. Finally japanese kill him, cut the neck 25.


One of the Gull Force men wished to thank Papilaya but had

nothing to offer him, so instead gave him the simple gift of a

shoulder title and a button from his tunic. Papilaya kept these

well hidden until after the arrival of Ambon Force, when they

were proudly displayed as his most treasured possession. Today,

the metal button and 'Australia' title are still highly cherished

mementos, recalling both Gull Force and the sacrifice of the

Ambonese.

Medical Aid Programme

The visible aspect of the Pilgrimage becomes apparent during the

annual visit to Rumah Sakit Umum - Ambon (RSU-Ambon, the

Ambon General Hospital)26. This is the Gull Force Medical Aid

Programme, which has provided medical aid, reticulated water

supply projects and playgrounds, text and reference books,

reading glasses and sporting materials27. During the 196 7 visit,

Ian Macrae had visited RSU-Ambon and noted that, although

clean and well looked after, it was short of equipment and trained

staff, and suffered from an unreliable electricity supply which

made surgery "unpredictable ". He further noted that, "The

operating lamp is out of order, so the reliance is on the electric

torch. The X-Ray plant is out of order " 28, and there were

discussions regarding the provision of medicines, particularly

anti-malarial tablets ("most malaria goes untreated "). This was

not a bad state of affairs however, considering that when

Dr Soebekti had commenced as Director of Health twelve months

earlier, the staff were on strike, efforts were being made to close

/


down the hospital, and there were no patients other than, "those

brought by their relatives to die " 29. Today, thanks largely to

the support of Gull Force Association, this hospital boasts 350

beds and a staff which includes 17 GPs, 32 specialists and

5 dentists. The Association has arranged electrical rewiring and

water supply projects at the hospital, and have arranged to send

medical specialists to work in Ambonese villages.

For the 1968 visit, Rod Gabriel assembled a variety of

stores, including medicines, sheeting, pyjamas, a lawn mower and

a distillation plant30, Further hospital stores were taken in 1969,

and then in 1971 Jinkins arranged for the combined sponsorship

by Gull Force Association and Fairfield Infectious Diseases /

Hospital in Melbourne. Dr John Forbes, Fairfield's Medical

Superintendent, visited the Indonesian Minister for Health,

Professor Siwabessy, and the Representative for Foreign Projects

of the Indonesian Health Department, Dr Sumbung. This meeting

was arranged by Julius Tahija of Caltex Indonesia, who also

attended and supported the Gull Force Association proposal. Both

officials were enthusiastic, and agreed to arrange a covering

document for the Ambassador. Forbes was also confident of the

support he would receive from the Governor of Maluku, Colonel

Soemitro, whom he described in a letter to the Australian Foreign

Affairs Department as, "a keen protagonist of this scheme " 31,

The Indonesian Government earmarked some $10,000 of

Australian aid for projects in Ambon, and Fairfield Hospital

accepted technical responsibility for the programme. In 1972,


Gull Force Association sent dental and laboratory equipment, and

quantities of medicines, as well as engineer and medical teams to

install water and electrical supplies in the hospital. Between

1970 and 1973, the Association shipped over four consignments

of drugs and medical equipment, valued at about $26,00032.

In 197 4, Dr Forbes led an expedition back to Ambon with a

further consignment of medical stores and equipment for the new

Governor, Brigadier-General Soemeroe33. The support of a team

of doctors was provided under a grant from the Australian

Development Assistance Bureau34, and Rod Gabriel recalled that

much support to this growing project was also given by the

Governor, Major-General Hasan Slamet3S, who for over a decade

had a close association with Jinkins, Macrae and Gabriel as the

various Gull Force activities in Ambon gained momentum. Similar

support was given by Slamet's successors, Major-General

Sebastianus Soekoso36 (1987-92) and Drs M Akib Latuconsina

(1992-97). By the time of the 1991 Pilgrimage, the aid provided

by Gull Force was quoted as totalling $900,000, and it is now

valued well over a million dollars. Among the items brought in

1996 were complete sets of instruments for microsurgery,

orthopaedics, ENT and skin grafting donated by Australian

doctors or their widows, a microscope, and text and reference

books. Similarly in 1997, the Association donated an

uninterruptable power system for the monitor in the Intensive

Care Unit, anaesthesia equipment and technical medical

magazines. Dr Usmany (anENT specialist) and Dr Connie joseph

/


(an anaesthetist) at RSU-Ambon were overwhelmed at the

opportunities this equipment would create. Dr Afifudin, an eye

specialist and Director of the hospital, remarked that the

significance of the contributions towards both patient welfare and

staff development far exceeded their mere monetary value37.

Another component of the aid programme is the provision

of reading glasses for the elderly, distributed by the organisation

PKK, Pendidikan Ketrampilan Keluarga (Family Education Skills).

Lionel Penny has taken a particular personal interest in this

project in his more than twenty return visits. He has been

responsible each year for the collection, cleaning and checking of

the spectacles, as well as for obtaining new cases when required.

The 1997 pilgrimage party brought with them some 320 pairs of

spectacles, and Penny conservatively estimates that Gull Force

Association has supplied over 1,500 pairs of reading glasses for

use by Ambonese villagers38.

There is also a Gull Force Trust Fund of some significance,

set up by Jinkins in April 1979 on behalf of the Association with

the aim of helping an Ambonese girl who had been orphaned as

the result of a typhoon in 197 4. She had been sailing with her

parents, and was the sole surviving member of the family, as

recounted by Rod Gabriel: "we took around the hat and started a

trust fund, and we maintained that and added to it. We looked

after that little lass until we put her right through tertiazy

education " 39. Rina de Fretes still lives on Ambon today, and


takes the opportunity whenever possible to meet up with her Gull

Force benefactors. A similar scholarship scheme continues today

for an Ambonese boy and girl, paid from the interest received on

the capital of the trust fund, supporting Dian Pesiwarissa (SMP

Negeri 6) and Solivan Marthen (Pattimura University). Bill

Gaspersz has maintained a tangible link with Gull Force by

administering this scholarship and trust fund on their behalf.

Bill and his wife Barbara were again brought out to

Australia in 1970 by Gull Force Association, in gratitude for the

contribution and sacrifices of the Gaspersz' - described by Bill

Jinkins as a "brave, loyal and generous Ambon family " 40.

Jinkins, Percy Elsum and other veterans hosted the Gaspersz' on

visits to Healesville Sanctuary and the Penguin Parade at Phillip

Island. Barbara Gaspersz notes that the appointment of their son

john as Caretaker of the Ambon War Cemetery has kept the

family association alive:

It's nice, so we are not strangers at all when we come there [to the War Cemetery]. We can come, look around, evezytime. Sometimes I do like to walk around, reading all those names, remembering the ones we knew. Bill Ripper among them; and there's also one vezy young one, his mother and sister came to Ambon, twice I think, to visit her son's grave ... But then I like to visit the grave too, just because I knew his sister and mother 41.

Closely associated with the Medical Aid Programme are the

veterans' efforts in supplying water to remote Ambonese villages


such as Benteng, Halong and Karang Panjang. In 1991, veterans

installed Wilcox hydraulic ram pumps to lift water 700 metres to

the hillside villages of Seilele and Soya Atas. The 2,000 litre

reservoir tank at Soya Atas built by local resident Frits Rehatta42,

has an Australian 'Rising Sun' badge with a large 'A'

superimposed, within a map of Australia in cement relief, the

whole flanked by two kangaroos. This design was based on a

small 'Anzac Appeal' lapel badge Rehatta had earlier been given

by a Gull Force veteran. As he gave out some of these same lapel

badges in Ambon during the 1997 Pilgrimage, Brigadier Chris

Roberts took pleasure in explaining the significance of this

insignia - " the 'A' represents Australia and Anzac, and now it also

stands for Ambon " 43. In 1992, the installation of a similar

water pumping system at Karang Panjang was co-ordinated by

Ben Amor and Alec Chapman, who had both escaped

independently from Ambon and owed their survival to the

assistance they received from Ambonese families44.

The desire of the Gull Force veterans to 'repay a debt of

gratitude' is clearly the underlying motive in these projects, but

the degree of their success is largely attributable to the

acceptance of these projects by the people themselves. Based on

a strong loyalty to the Dutch, the Australians had been keenly

welcomed by the Ambonese in 1941-42. This acceptance was

totally contrary to the concept of an 'Asian brotherhood' that the

invading Japanese tried to promote. A 'Nipponese Admonition'

(expressed in leaflets dropped on the Allied forces) explained


that, from the standpoint of Nippon Samurai spirit, it was divine

will and humanity to give happiness to the millions of 'East

Orientals' mourning under the exploitation and persecution of the

European colonial powers. As a prelude to its Dai Toa Senso

('Greater East Asian War'), the Japanese had already established a

presence in Ambon before the war, largely operating as

commercial traders. They operated fishing boats and ran 'variety'

shops such as Toko Iwanaga and Toko Kitano, and were

responsible for distributing anti-Dutch propaganda and leaflets in

villages throughout the island. Some of these pamphlets carried

such strong slogans as: "Japan will liberate the people of Asia

from the white-skinned devil people " and "japan will come to

expel the devils ". In the villages, offices and schools, the

Ambonese were taught that' "japan is the elder brother of

Indonesia " 45.

Opposition to the Japanese was especially strong in the

eastern provinces however, notably Sulawesi, Maluku (including

Ambon) and Timor. While the japanese were able to establish in

Jakarta and Western java the Tiga A ('Three A') organisation -

proclaiming "Nippon the Light of Asia, Nippon the Protector of

Asia, Nippon the Leader of Asia" - this organisation was never

able to be established in the eastern islands of the NEI46. This

Eurocentric loyalty, and open opposition to the japanese, is

significant because it suggests why the Ambonese were more

likely to support the Australians, even in captivity, than the

Japanese in occupation. Staff of the 33rd Infantry Brigade


(Ambon Force) noted that Ambonese-Australian relations were

"particularly amicable " because the Australian soldiers were

seen as being solely responsible for the defeat of Japan47. And on

Ambon in the years from 1967 onwards, despite a twenty year

interregnum, the returning veterans were surprised to find that

the Ambonese had not forgotten them.

But why has the Gull Force Pilgrimage been such a singular

success, when any of these factors individually could have

ensured the success of similar ventures by any other group of

veterans? It is proposed that the answer could lie in the

uniquely Moluccan tradition of pela, which has some similarities

with the Australian concept of 'mateship'.

Pela relationships involve a series of mutual obligations

linking communities from different villages regardless of

language or denominational differences, based on factors such as

shared history and shared ancestors. Over the centuries,

Christians and Moslems on Ambon have always acknowledged

their religious differences, but have used pela to bridge these

differences48. It has been through the practical application of

pela that the Moluccans have been able to live in harmony, a

phenomenon locally expressed as 'Ambon Manise' 49. Pela can be

an intervillage alliance or pact of assistance for co-operation, or it

can be established to develop co-operation to reduce tension

between former enemies. Thirdly, pela relationships can arise

after community groups have helped each other in a time of

/


crisis, leaving a mutual and often unspoken obligation. In each of

these cases, similarities can be identified with the less formally

structured 'mateship' ethos which has come to be recognised in

Australians, and particularly amongst Australian soldiers.

It is interesting to note that by the time of the first visits in

196 7 and 1968, the wartime service of Gull Force and the

assistance given by the Ambonese had been incorporated into

Ambonese folklore and was being passed on to new generations.

The Ambonese recalled the Australians' stand against the

Japanese, and the Australians were still considered the 'defenders

of Ambon'. Also incorporated into the folklore was the support

given by the Ambonese to the Australians during escape attempts

and in captivity, and the enshrinement of Doolan's grave. Upon

their return to Ambon, the Gull Force veterans found themselves

amongst the only people who had witnessed and understood their

suffering from 1942 to 1945, so the Australian's desire to repay

the debt was both understood and freely accepted. But through

the annual Pilgrimages however, it becomes apparent that the

mateship of the Australian Gull Force veterans was extended to

their Ambonese benefactors, just as a form of pela relationship

was extended to the veterans by the Ambonese. To the

Australians, the Pilgrimage and the Medical Aid Programme were

simply an extension of the Australian mateship ethos, a means of

repaying their debt of gratitude to those who had previously

given assistance, but it is suggested that these activities were

viewed by the Ambonese in terms of a traditional Moluccan pela


relationship. As Bill Gaspersz later recalled, their relationship

was, "closer than close " so. In this way, the veterans' efforts

were readily accepted from the time of the first visits.

In considering the success of the Pilgrimage, some

important aspects of pela can be clearly recognised. Pela alliances

may exist between distantly separated villages, even villages on

separate islands, often with significant linguistic separation, so

the separation of Australia and Ambon was not relevant. Pela

alliances are not formed between individuals but between

community groups, so Gull Force Association has always been

enthusiastically welcomed regardless of which individual

veterans constituted the Pilgrimage party. Interaction is

important in maintaining pela but few such pacts are based on

everyday contact (many pela linkages never involve a communal

gathering or ceremony), so the fact that Gull Force and the

Ambonese only met once a year (and individuals often less

frequently) is again irrelevant. And finally, pela is generally only

activated in extraordinary circumstances. It is significant to

observe here that, following the ethnic and religious violence

which erupted on Ambon in January 1999, pela can be seen to

have been invoked by the Gaspersz family when they drew upon

the alliance with Gull Force and sought refuge in Melbourne.


4.2 The 'Doolan Memorial'

Ted jones, a member of the Australian 33rd Infantry Brigade

(Ambon Force, or 'Amforce'), revisited Ambon privately in 1995

and found that, after mentioning to the taxi driver that he was an

Australian veteran who had served on Ambon at the end of the

war, without hesitation the driver whisked him away to show

him Tugu Dolan (the 'Doolan Memorial')!Sl This Australian

Memorial at Kudamati has become something of a contentious

monument through its association with Private Bill Doolan who

was killed nearby in 1942. After its establishment, it became

widely known by the Ambonese as Tugu Dolan 52 despite the fact

that its purpose was to recognise the service of all Australians

and Ambonese. The naming of Tugu Dolan by the Ambonese has

caused some difficulty for the Gull Force veterans who stress,

quite correctly, that, "it is not, and never has been, a memorial to

Dvr Doolan " 53, but also gives some insight into Indonesian

remembrance.

During the first two days of fighting, Doolan had been used

as a battalion runner but had complained about the lack of

action54, Doolan was attached to a reconnaissance patrol which, at

4 am on February 1st, was sent forward to gather information

about enemy strengths and dispositions. The patrol returned at

about 7 am, without Doolan; small arms and machine-gun fire

had been heard but nothing was seen. Various accounts of

/


Doolan's actions have been published 55, most of them grossly

exaggerated and embellished56. In the simplest version of what

transpired, following a patrol through enemy lines, Driver William

Thomas Doolan held up a japanese force while covering the

withdrawal of his mates, until he was overwhelmed and killed.

From the monument which today stands at Kudamati can be seen

the knoll where Doolan made his stand, while his body was

buried under a Gandaria tree near the monument site. The

Ambonese have at least two ballads honouring the actions of Bill

Doolan (see Appendix 3)57.

Paul Kastanja had belonged to a KNIL battalion based near

the villages of Wainitu and Hurnala in early 1942 while the

Australians were integrated within the Dutch positions. Kastanja

used an old Indonesian expression to describe his friendship with

Doolan - "Makan sepiring, Minum segelas ", meaning they were

close friends - they 'ate from the same plate, drank from the

same glass· ss. The village of Kudamati was at the top of a steep

hill beside a ravine, and at the foot of this ravine the Australian

patrol had encountered a japanese force. Doolan is usually

credited with killing 80 japanese, although as Bill Gaspersz

recounts, "But how many japanese he has killed, nobody

knows " 59. Pete Papilaya, who had been in the Kudamati area

at about this time, later reflected: "Doolan was fighting eight

japanese truck. Start from that Church in the corner in

Batugantung, right to the hill " 60. Bill Gaspersz noted that

Sergeant-Major Waaldyk (later the first Caretaker of the Ambon

/


War Cemetery) had witnessed the action:

He made a statement that he knew, that he was was among them that was retreating from Kudamati, and Bill Doolan was covering with a machine-gun, that's when he shot so many japanese in their trucks 61.

Simply outnumbered, Doolan was encircled by the Japanese and

was shot from behind. Bill Gaspersz repeated the story: "He

killed many japanese. He was above, and the japanese came

around, and they must climb around the hill, and they was on the

hill then with a machine-gun " 62. Lionel Penny related the

account that he has heard from his Ambonese friends:

When he was dead, the japanese mutilated him, / chopping at him, and left him there. When they were gone, the people got him and of course they had his name, and the things that were on him just told them who he was, and they buried him there at Kudamati 63.

Paul Kastanja is adamant that Doolan's body and the japanese

bodies lay undisturbed until, two days later, the Japanese

removed all of the japanese corpses. The KNIL soldiers were

withdrawn to Mount Nona, but Kastanja and a friend went back to

check on Doolan and, when it was safe, took the body and buried

it. Bill Gaspersz is adamant: "The japanese bodies were gone, but

Bill's body was buried by the people of Kudamati " 64. Kastanja

further clarified: "I and my friend Mr Elbezer Huwae to l1y going

back to the battle place obvious Dollan was shot to death near

mainroad . . . we are buried him under the gandaria tree at


Kudamati " 65. Papi.laya and his friends had fled Kudamati, but

later returned: "After a week, we came back and was a grave

there " 66, At first, the villagers guarded the grave and kept it a

secret: "japan didn't know " Papilaya recalled, "Because if

Japanese knew all about it they kill all those people " 67.

When Ambon Force arrived as an occupation force, one of

the first things the soldiers heard from the locals was of the

brave stand by Doolan. Ted Jones recalls, "When we got there,

that was all the talk - It was the flrst thing they talked

about " 68. Jones found the grave beside the road with white

painted stones around its edge. Doolan's grave had become

something of a shrine for the Ambonese and, "until the end of the

war the grave was never without flowers " 69. One of the sailors

from HMAS Quadrant visited Doolan's grave several times and

placed flowers on it, later noting that, "The people of Ambon

made it a sacred place. I have never heard anything like the way

they spoke of him " 70. Doolan's body was recovered by

Australian War Graves Commission workers and re-interred at

Tan Toey. The Australian prisoners had carved an elaborate

wooden cross which they had been permitted to erect over his

grave at Kudamati, and this cross is now in the Australian War

Memorial in Canberra. Despite the conflicting versions and

exaggerations, all of the basic elements in the story are true.

Doolan was an ordinary Australian, but whether he was

courageous or simply unlucky remains unknown. Barbara

Gaspersz still recalls his attitude when he used to visit their home


before the invasion: "He was vezy quiet, he doesn't talk too

much. One thing I remembered he was saying that even if he has

no weapons he will take a chain to beat the japanese ... " 71.

Captain Stockwell, Officer Commanding the Australian War

Graves Unit at Ambon, reported that the locals still sang the song

they had dedicated to the memory of Doolan, and made regular

pilgrimages to Doolan's graven. In the Brigade's local newspaper

it was recorded that Miss Daisy Parker sang the 'Song of Doolan'

in English during a round of Community Singing at the Opera73.

In the early part of the war, the Ambonese had heard the

Australian soldiers singing the music hall ballad, 'Rose in her

Hair' 74, and they themselves started whistling the tune: at that

time they had simply called it 'the Australian Song'. In 1945-46,

the Amforce men heard them singing the song and soon

recognised the word Doolan in the lyrics7s. Pete Papilaya still

sings an abbreviated version of the song (see Appendix 3). It is

certain that the Doolan episode had a great impact on the local

Ambonese, and from it they drew strength. Jim Baker of Amforce

later penned the poem 'Morotai Moon' to summarise his

experiences at the end of the war, and he included a verse on the

Doolan episode:

They honoured Driver Doolan, brave he died in 'forty-two, Lone-handed firing Bren gun, all on Ambon knew This song of daring gallantry, inspired them in ordeal Of fearful hungzy war years, taking years of peace

to heal. 76


Not only did the Doolan episode give them strength during the

difficult days of the Japanese occupation, but apparently also

during the post-war revolutionary period. In 1955, the hills of

Ambon were said to be 'echoing to the rattle of small-arms fire',

and as the Christian RMS troops fought Soekarno's government

troops, they were reputedly singing a song about the Australian

soldier Doolan77. His defiant stand against the Japanese inspired

the Ambonese RMS guerrillas to sing a 'war chant' as they went

into battle against the government forces, as the spearhead of the

South Moluccan revolt.

In 1956, one Gull Force veteran was provided with a

version of the Doolan song, entitled 'The Brave Soldier' 78, During

a visit to Ambon in 1965, Brigadier Athol Brown CMG OBE,

Secretary-General and Director of the Commonwealth War Graves

Commission, Pacific Region, met an 8 year old Ambonese boy

who sang the 'Doolan Song' in Ambonese:

Caught by the great guns, machine-guns and rifles of the Australians on Ambon, thousands of japanese Jay dead and wounded.

From his tree, the Australian Doolan killed many men of japan.

He did not run away or move back, until at last he was killed by the men of japan 79.

It is significant to note that all of these occurrences took place

during the period from 1945 to 196 7 - before any Gull Force

veterans had returned to Ambon, and before the dedication of the

Ambon War Cemetery. Awareness of the 'Song of Doolan'


certainly became more widespread after 1968. One journalist

met the caretaker of the War Cemetery and reported how, "at the

slightest excuse he will marshal the local children to sing the

Doolan Song " 80; he also referred to a girl from a Christian

school who sang a version of the song, which the school used for

an English translation exercise, and the fact that the tune could

also be heard in the Halong Inn nightclub. And it is not just in

local folklore that Doolan's name has become irretrievably part of

Ambon's rich culture: the official history of Maluku region

contains an account of Doolan's actionsBl.

A report written by Major Bill Jinkins MBE on the conduct

of the first Pilgrimage in 196 7 makes it apparent that Gull Force

Association itself may have been responsible for initiating the

controversy over the 'Doolan Memorial'. There is no doubting

that Doolan's grave had become a wartime shrine for the

Ambonese. The other Australians fell on battlefields; Doolan, by

contrast, was known to many of the Ambonese, and he fell in an

inhabited area with his death attested to by Ambonese. After the

Ambonese had been singing 'The Song of Doolan' for two decades,

perhaps in 196 7 the Gull Force veterans unwittingly offered them

the opportunity to have a permanent memorial erected in his

memory. During this visit, members of the Association had laid a

wreath at Kudamati, as Jinkins later noted in his report to Gull

Force Association:

In the afternoon all members of the party visited the place of the last stand of Bill Doolan and laid a wreath at


the place of his death in the Koedamardi village ... Many stories were remembered and retold by members and local people who recollected the stand put up by W Doolan 82.

On Friday October 27th, on being presented with the memorial

plaque by the Gull Force party, the Governor had promised to

install it in a prominent position, "adjacent to the Government

offices in a manner befitting the plaque and the objects of the

Pilgrimage " 83. After the Australians then made such a

ceremony of the wreath-laying at Kudamati the following day, it

is not surprising that when Governor Latumahina arranged for

the erection of a suitable memorial to carry the plaque, the land

was willingly offered by the people of Kudamati. It might be

wondered how they would have come to know of these plans, but

the management of the project was delegated by Governor

Latumahina to his Assistant Governor (Economy, Finance and

Development), Bill Gaspersz. So, not only did Bill Gaspersz play a

role in Jinkins' escape from Ambon, but twenty-five years later

was able to maintain a close association with Gull Force

Association and help Jinkins finally repay his obligation to the

Ambonese people. And at the same time, he ensured that the

legend of Bill Doolan's stand in Kudamati was perpetuated. As

Lionel Penny points out,

Ever since I've been coming here, for twenty years, the people of Ambon, they all refer to it, no matter where you go or what's told, they will talk about Tantui, but they will say, 'Then Kudamati, Doolan Memorial'. And knowing the Ambonese as I do, I would not deny them

/

Pilgrimage - Z i a r a h 11 7

the right to say that 84.

In 1981, when families were first given the opportunity to

participate, Doolan's widow Kathleen O'Connell and her younger

daughter Wendy joined the Gull Force Pilgrimage and were

befriended by Paul Kastanja at Kudamati85. In gradually gaining

knowledge of her father's wartime service, Wendy Doolan notes

that she has long believed in his selfless act of bravery. Various

attempts to honour Doolan's actions have faltered in the past, and

published accounts have often concluded with a call to have him

awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross86. Wendy Doolan now

believes however, that an appropriate way to finalise the issue

would be to place a commemorative plaque at or at least near the

site of his death87. In the end, the opportunity to officially

present such a plaque to the Governor or Mayor did not arise

during the 1998 Pilgrimage, and the plaque has not yet been

placed88.

Wendy Doolan is very conscious of the fact that the 'Doolan

Memorial' has been the centre of controversy for some time,

thereby denying any proper recognition of her father's death. On

Anzac Day 1998, she commented that her personal Pilgrimage to

Ambon had been to place a plaque acknowledging the site of her

father's death - nothing more: "I know the story has become

exaggerated over time, but the fact is he was there, he was killed

by the japanese, and all I want to do now is recognise that " 89.

Ironically, placing such a plaque at a site near the Kudamati


Memorial or near the original Gandaria tree site would actually

have clarified the situation. It would have clearly marked the

site of Doolan's death and the grave which had become a shrine to

the Ambonese, and would have left the Australian Memorial as

exactly that, a monument to the members of Gull Force and of the

Australian Services as well as the people of Ambon.

In death, Bill Doolan may not have received anything more

than the standard five campaign stars and medals, but his legacy

persists on Ambon. Several children have been given the name

'Doolan' in his honour, such as in the Lekatompessy family

originally from Latuhalat, and others, particularly in the

Kudamati and Batugadjah districts where Doolan was particularly

well known before the invasion90. In early 1958, Paul Kastanja

named his new-born son 'Doolan' in memory of his Australian

friend. Doolan Kastanja turned 40 in 1998 and now has five

children: following the 1981 visit by Kath~een O'Connell and her

daughter, his daughter who was born in 1990 was named Wendy

Kastanja. And in a final touch of coincidence, Wendy noted that

April 1998 had been a special time for her because her pregnant

daughter, Susan Hall, had been due when she had left for

Ambon91, Nothing could have been more fitting than for Bill

Doolan's great-grandson Benjamin to be born on Anzac Day 1998.

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Pilgrimage - Z i a r a h 11 9

4.3 Links

On Ambon in 1998, the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia

noted that, "Anzac Day marks our birth as a nation, [but] what our

people did here on Ambon very much marks our sense of identity

with this region " 92, From the first Anzac Day, Australians

forged an international identity, but during World War 2 they

developed a clear identification with the Southeast Asian region.

The previous year, the Ambassador recognised that Ambon had

gained a place in the annals of Australian history through the

wartime activities of Gull Force: "On Ambon, they enacted /

history. Ambon became part of our history, and became part of

our history in a land other than Australia, so drawing us in to the

region of which we are so very much a part " 93. At the same

dinner, the Australian Foreign Minister paid tribute to the role of

the Ambonese in assisting the Australian prisoners of war:

For me as a Foreign Minister, that's a good illustration of the bonds of friendship between our countries ... We do have a much longer history together than people sometimes seem to understand, and these types of incidents are an important component of that history 94•

The link between Darwin and Ambon did not begin with the

2/21st Battalion- it originated much earlier, when Dutch vessels

came to northern Australia from Ambon. An expedition

(comprising the pinnaces Pera and Arnhem) to explore south of

the Spice Islands departed Ambon on 21 january 1623 under the

command of Jan Castensz, and returned on june 8th. Nine men


and the captain of the Arnhem were murdered on the south coast

of New Guinea, so Willem van Colster took command of the

Arnhem and sailed into the Gulf of Carpentaria. At the end of

April, the Arnhem made landfall on the eastern coast of that vast

area of the Top End today known as Arnhem Land, making van

Colster the first European discoverer of the Northern Territory9s.

Darwin was certainly the last sight of Australia for Gull

Force and for some of those who escaped, including Bill Jinkins, it

was also a welcome sight on their homecoming. Another Darwin

Ambon link exists in the service of the RAAF's two 13 Squadrons.

Number 13 (City of Darwin) Squadron was raised as an Active

Reserve squadron on 1 July 1989, named to perpetuate the

service of the wartime bomber squadron. No.13 Squadron had

been recalled to Australia before the Japanese invasion of Ambon,

but eleven of its members could not escape the island in time and

were executed. After a national 13 Squadron Association was

established in 1984, veterans first joined the pilgrimage to

Ambon the following year96. The wartime 13 Squadron had earnt

a US Presidential Unit Citation for its service in the NEI, but this

honour had not been presented by the time the squadron was

disbanded in 1946, so it was instead presented to the new No.13

(City of Darwin) Squadron on 31 May 1990. And then on April

22nd 1994, with a number of wartime veterans present, No.13

Squadron received the Freedom of Entry to the City of Darwin.

While the annual Pilgrimage to Ambon has generally been a

purely Gull Force affair, those 13 Squadron veterans able to

/


attend are keen participants, representing the pre-invasion

service of the airmen who called themselves the 'Devil's Brothers'

(Fratres Diaboles). And maintaining the connection, in Darwin

today, members of No.13 (City of Darwin) Squadron proudly wear

the gilt-framed blue ribbon of the Presidential Unit Citation on

their uniforms.

In two separate actions before the surrender, Lieutenants

Chapman and McBride had led escape parties to the north coast of

Ambon. One who offered assistance to McBride's party was the

Headmaster of the junior primary school, johannes ('Jan')

Lodewyk Pattiselanno97, who lived in Hila with his wife

Wilhelmina ('Min') and family, among them two sons, John and

jaconias ('Nes'). jan and the boys provided food, while Min and

her daughters washed their uniforms. As a means of thanking

the Pattiselanno family, the Australians offered to take their

youngest son, Nes, back to Australia where he would have better

access to health care and education. Nes related his memory of

these times:

According to the parents, I wanted to be taken out by the Australian soldier. But the parents won't let me, won't let that happen. But as far as my memozy, I was put on his shoulders and taken to the ship, but then he went back to the shore again 98.

jan and Min Pattiselanno carefully weighed the opportunities

their son might gain from an Australian upbringing, but decided

not to permit him to go99. John later married an Australian, an

/


officer in the CMF who later became an Australian Cadet Corps

officer with the 70th Regional Cadet Unit (70 RCU) in Darwin.

The unit struck up an affiliation with the Gull Force veterans, and

then in May 1989 Gull Force Hall in Larrakeyah Barracks was

dedicated to honour the service of Gull Force in DarwinlOO.

Whenever possible, john Pattiselanno himself would always meet

with the Gull Force veterans each year, either in Darwin or on

Ambon. The role of the Pattiselanno family in helping the

Australians cannot easily be forgotten, while John's younger

brother was very nearly raised as an Australian. And today, jan

and Min Paqiselanno's granddaughter Maria has continued the

association in a tangible way- in uniform, also as a member of

70 RCU, which parades at Gull Force Hall in Darwin.

There is today a significant connection between Darwin and

Ambon. A teacher and student exchange programme has

operated continuously since 1973, and since 1977 the Darwin

Ambon yacht race has been held annually. The link between

Darwin and Ambon was formalised in 1988 when a Sister-Cities

Agreement was ratifiedlOl, and Darwin's other Sister City in the

region is Haikou (on the island of Hainan) - which is significant

because Ambon and Hainan were the only two sites of internment

of Gull Force during the warl02. Today, a Darwin-Ambon Sister

City Committee maintains a commitment to "support the Gull

Force veterans' annual pilgrimage and Anzac Day ceremonies in

Ambon". Under the Sister-City agreement, exchanges and co

operative research projects have been conducted between

/


Pattimura University and the Northern Territory University.

Notably, within the NTU's Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, a

three year comparative study of social change in Maluku Province

was conducted, aimed at developing co-operative research and

training links in the anthropology of contemporary development

issueslo3. An Ambonese boxing team came to Darwin, and in

1991 the Northern Territory participated in the Third Arafura

Youth Games which were conducted in Ambonl04.

Defence Links

Out of Gull Force's deployment in search of regional security in

1941-42, several co-operative programmes have been initiated,

not least of which has been a growing relationship between the

Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the Indonesian Armed Forces

(ABRI), today designated as the Indonesian National Army

(Tentara Nasional Indonesia, TNI). The ADF's commitment to the

Ambon Pilgrimage presents another opportunity to maintain a

steadily developing military relationship across a diverse

archipelago.

In 1997, the Commander Northern Command (NORCOM)

Brigadier Chris Roberts AM CSC related that one benefit of

Defence and diplomatic representation at such ceremonies is that

these officials are deeply committed to the ideal of regional

stability and security: "Australia's greatest security lies in a

stable region to our north that is friendly to us, and we achieve

that through friendship and trade " 10s. It is ironic that so


much good should result from the blackest moments of the

Second World War, with energies which might otherwise have

been expended on frustration, regret and anger being redirected

into compassion and humanitarian projects. These activities in

some ways mirror the civil-military co-operation programme

conducted by ABRI to support and improve conditions in remote

regions, known simply as 'AMD'- ABRI Masuk Desa ('ABRI Enters

the Village')l06, Despite their advancing years, the men of Gull

Force were still seen by the Ambonese as soldiers, and the fact

that the AMD programme was so well established simply made

acceptance of the Gull Force projects that much easier. Even

today, the Ambonese still regard the Gull Force veterans as the

brave defenders of their island and wish to honour them at every

occasion.

In explaining their rationale for their Pilgrimages, and their

fervour in developing primary health care and other support

projects, Rod Gabriel remarked that no-one hated wars more than

old soldiers: "Building good relations between nations through

person-to-person contacts was a much better way of doing

things " 107. Similarly, Brigadier Roberts related: "Throughout

the last fifty years we've seen a tremendous friendship grow

between our two countries, Indonesia and Australia, and the

Australian Defence Force I am vezy proud to say contributes to

developing that friendship " 108, In the period up to mid-1999,

the development of closer defence links and a strong bilateral

relationship had been effected under the auspices of the Defence

/


Co-operation Programme (DCP) 109.

In 1987, Australia's defence philosophy was re-oriented

towards self-reliance, but the 1994 Defence White Paper

recognised that Australia's defence relationship with Indonesia

"is our most important in the region and a key element in

Australia's approach to regional defence engagement " no.

Another strategic paper further reinforced that "Indonesia is our

most important strategic relationship in Southeast Asia " 111.

Meanwhile, "The Australia-Indonesia Agreement on Maintaining

Security" was signed in December 1995 to promote defence

cooperation between Australia and Indonesia in the pursuit of

peace and security112. This bilateral relationship was based on a

range. of activities, including high-level official visits, military

exerdses, operational deployments, personnel attachments,

exchanges, study visits and training programmes113. These

activities enhanced a concept in defence planning known as

'transparency', and promoted a mutual knowledge and

understanding of each other's strategic perceptions and policies.

These alliances and bilateral relationships were not so much

concerned with containing a potential adversary as promoting

peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. One of the key

concerns was promoting Indonesia's ability to defend itself from

an aggressor, thereby defending Australia by preventing the use

of the Indonesian archipelago as a 'springboard' from which to

launch assaults on Australia itself. By promoting "multilateral

processes ", ranging from politico-military ventures to training,

/


trade and other activities based on mutual benefit114, Australia

and Indonesia were believed to be contributing to regional

security.

Brigadier Roberts, in common with his two immediate

predecessors as Commander NORCOM, was responsible to the

Chief of the Defence Force, through Commander Australia Theatre,

for 'regional engagement' with Indonesia and, in particular, for

maintaining close relations with the military commanders to the

immediate north and northwest of Australia. This link had a

particular emphasis on the eastern provinces which were the

responsibility of three Indonesian Military Area Commands

(KODAM VII, VIII and IX), the Eastern Fleet (Armada Timur,

ARMATIM), and the 2nd Air Operations Command (Komando

Operasi Angkatan Udara, KOOPSAU II) - which doubled as the 2nd

Air Defence Sector Command (Komando Sektor, KOSEK II).

Following Anzac Day 1997, Brigadier Roberts re-iterated:

Today I had the great honour to be at the opening ceremony of Exercise Cassowary '9 7, where our own Navy and the Navy of the Republic of Indonesia are holding an exercise between Ambon and Darwin, which goes to show . . . that our two forces work together to ensure that this region remains secure and at peace us.

/


Notes

2

3

4 5

6

7

8 9 10

11

12

See Rosenzweig, P A, "Anzac on Ambon, 30 years of Gull Force Pilgrimages". Sabretache, XL (April-June 1999): 3-15. There were 300 participants in the 50th anniversary pilgrimage to Gallipoli, arranged and conducted by the RSL with government support, including a number of original Anzacs from Australia and New Zealand, as well as wives, widows and Army nurses (see Inglis, K, "Gallipoli pilgrimage 1965". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 18: 20-27). The 75th anniversary pilgrimage was documented by Defence Artist Jeff Isaacs in The Spirit of ANZAC, published by the Australian Defence Force Journal. Today, the Australian Embassy, in rotation with New Zealand, manages the annual commemoration and other projects stemming from the Anzac-Gallipoli connection, including proposals to create a Peace Park on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Also documented by Defence Artist Jeff Isaacs, as Return to Greece, published by the Australian Defence Force Journal. Time Australia. Special Report: D-Day. No.23: 41 (6 June 1994). See Reid, R, "Reflections. 'Up north': the Australia Remembers Veterans' Pilgrimage to Papua New Guinea, 29 June to 13 July 1995". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 27: 27-33 (October 1995). For example, the return to lsurava on the Kokoda Track by 49 veterans and their families led by the Minister of Defence in early 1998. It was at lsurava that the first Victoria Cross was awarded for service in the South West Pacific Area, the Australians involved in this battle playing a key role in defending Australian territory (Australian Military News, September 1998, p.4). The Australian Battlefield Tour, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, http://www. battlefieldtours. com.au. The Australian, 19 March 1999. Reid (1995). There are actually two monuments although only one has been maintained in a presentable form in a public area. The second Laha monument, on the site from which some 60-65 bodies were exhumed, is today to be found well within the modern village, at the back of a villager's yard. This memorial has not been maintained and carries no plaque. Graves 1, 2 and 3 were found to contain 67, 46 and 67 bodies respectively. When exhumation of Mass Grave No.4 was completed on 8 December 1945, it was found to contain a total of 139 bodies, many displaying evidence of violence (fractured or shattered skulls, broken thigh bones and bound wrists) (Amforce to Landops dated 10 December 1945, AAV 336-1-1587). Soemitro was an infantry officer, one of the first graduates of the Military Academy at Yogyakarta (1946-49) and the eighth Commander of KODAM 'IN, from 11 February 1978 to 28 April 1981 (Bachtiar, 1988, p.372).

/


1 3 In more recent times, the laha memorial has been maintained through the assistance of the Mayor of Ambon, Colonel Johannes Sudyono (Mayor from 1991 to 1996). He and his wife Imelda were strong supporters of the Gull Force pilgrimages and commemorations, especially recognising their significance within the framework of the Darwin-Ambon Sister City relationship. Their successors, Colonel and Mrs Chris Tanasale, have similarly embraced the significance of the Pilgrimage, and for the 1997 Pilgrimage the Mayor ensured the memorial was tiled to avoid the continual deterioration of the paintwork.

1 4 Lieutenant Colonel R C Gabriel MBE ED (retd), Address to the Gull Force Anzac Eve dinner, Ambon, 24 April1997.

1 5 Captain H F Drane (retd), pers comm (Ambon), 27 April 1996. 1 6 Captain M Thompson, Ambon, 25 April 1996. 17 "Ambon War Cemetery, Ambon, Indonesia". Commonwealth War Graves

Commission booklet, 1968, "Order of Ceremony at the Dedication of the Ambon War Cemetery and Memorial, Ambon, Indonesia, 2nd April 1968". Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 1968; Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Debt of Honour Register. http:/ /www.cwgc.org; Brigadier A E Brown CMG OBE, letter dated 16 October 1968; Office of Australian War Graves, Journal 95-96, AGPS, Canberra, p.1 6.

18 Mr EN Kelly, pers comm, 21 May 1996. 19 His Excellency Mr John McCarthy, Ambassador to Indonesia, Address to the

Gull Force Anzac Eve dinner, Ambon, 24 April 1997. 20 Mr l J Penny, pers comm (Ambon), 25 April 1993. 21 Leech (1995), p.S8. 2 2 Some of these still stand today, although the iron sheeting which once lined

them has been removed. The stones were collected from the river and joined with a crude mortar which has held the walls together remarkably well these last fifty years, and the impressions of the rivets and seams are still visible in the concrete.

23 Mr P Papilaya, pers comm (Batugadjah, Ambon), 23 August 1997. 24 Mr P Papilaya, pers comm (Batugadjah, Ambon), 23 August 1997. 2 5 Mr P Papilaya, pers comm (Batugadjah, Ambon), 21 August 1997. 2 6 Now renamed Rumah Sa kit Umum Daerah Dr M Hau/ussy (Dr M Haulussy

Regional Public Hospital). 27 Lieutenant Colonel R C Gabriel MBE ED (retd), letter to the Australian

Embassy, Jakarta dated 24 March 1997. 28 Report by Major I F Macrae OBE, In Jinkins, Major W T, "Gull Force

(2/21 Bn) Association, Pilgrimage to Ambon, October 1967". Unpublished, 1967b, Section 8, p.1.

29 Report by Major IF Macrae OBE, In Jinkins (1967b), Section 8, p.1. 30 Report by Major I F Macrae OBE, In Jinkins (1967b), Section 8, p.1. 31 Dr J A Forbes, letter to The Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs dated

5 August 1971. Colonel Soemitro was an infantry officer, and was the 5th Governor of Maluku Province from 1968 to September 1973.

32 Dennis Warner, "Ambon Remembered". Sunday Mail (Brisbane), 17 November 1974.


3 3 Colonel Soemeroe was an infantry officer, and was the 6th Governor of Maluku Province, September 1973 to July 1976.

3 4 ADAB, subsequently AIDAB and now known as AusAid. 3 5 Slamet was an infantry officer who had commanded the 304th Infantry

Battalion in Western Java (1958-59), and then from 1960 until 1973 held senior staff appointments in KODAM VI - the famous 'Siliwangi Division' from West Java. In 1973-75, he commanded KODAM XIV!Hasanuddin in south and southeast Sulawesi, and from 197 5 had been Deputy Commander of the Regional Defence Command (Kowilhan IV) responsible for overseeing security issues in Irian Jaya and Maluku Provinces. He was the 7th Governor of Maluku, July 1976 to September 1987 (Bachtiar, 1988, p.306).

3 6 Soekoso was an infantry officer with a record of service within KODAM VI. In 1977-81, he commanded the Education and Training Centre for all Indonesian Special Forces and Airborne Forces. He was the 8th Governor of Maluku, September 1987 to 1992 (Bachtiar, 1988, pp.357-358).

37 Dr A Afifudin DSM, Dr A I Usmany and Dr C Joseph, pers comm (Ambon), 29 April 1996. /

38 Mr L J Penny, pers comm, 23 June 1997. 3 9 Lieutenant Colonel R C Gabriel MBE ED (retd), Address at the Gull Force

Reunion Dinner, Ambon, 24 April 1996. 40 In Macrae (unpublished notes, undated). 41 Mrs B Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998. 42 Mr F Rehatta, pers comm (Soya Atas, Ambon), 21 August 1997. 43 Brigadier Chris Roberts AM CSC, Commander Northern Command, Address at

Makan Patita, Latuhalat (Ambon), 26 April 1997. 44 The Age, 25 April 1992; The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 April 1992;

Mr L J Penny, pers comm, 26 April 1997. 4 5 Sejarah Kebangkitan Nasional Daerah Maluku. Departemen Pendidikan dan

Kebudayaan, Maluku, 1977/78, p.143. 46 Abdulgani (1973), p.16. 4 7 33rd Australian Infantry Brigade, Report on the Occupation of Ambon, 1945

(AWM SP664, Part Ill). 48 Chauvel, R, Head, Department of Asian and International Studies, Victoria

University, "Ambon's second tragedy: History, Ethnicity and Religion". Presentation to the 5th International Maluku Research Conference, Darwin, 14 July 1999; Soselisa, H, "Pela or Pig: Searching for Harmony in Central Maluku". Presentation to the 5th International Maluku Research Conference, Darwin, 16 July 1999.

49 The atypical violence which broke out on Ambon in January 1999 involved residents of Batumerah and Mardika who did not have true pela associations, so quickly degenerated into what was seen as purely ethnic/religious violence (Soselisa, 1999).

50 Mr W Gaspersz, pers comm (Tantui), 25 April 1997. 51 Mr E Jones (former 63rd Battalion), pers comm, 17 July 1997. 52 'Doolan' is actually pronounced 'Dollan' by the Ambonese (there is no 'oo'

sound in their language other than that made by the letter 'u').


53 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 1 6 October 1 996. 54 Doolan had been allocated as a driver to the unit dentistry officer, Captain

Gordon Marshall of the 23rd Special Dental Unit, attached to Gull Force (Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 31 August 1 999). He was also allocated as a driver to Bill Gaspersz, the Australians' Ambonese Liaison Officer (Mr W Gaspersz, pers comm, Ambon, 1 May 1998).

5 5 Some reports claim that Doolan was on outpost duty when the Japanese approached, others say he was in a clandestine patrol which burst into a Japanese office in Ambon town and killed all of the occupants with grenades. Another grand report claims there were a series of raids against the Japanese headquarters itself, sparking a massive retaliation. In some reports the patrol is being chased aggressively, in others they bump into a Japanese

·force. Many reports claim he made a machine-gun nest in the branches of a Gandaria tree, other say he stood behind the trunk and fired from behind the Gandaria tree. Some reports say he destroyed a number of trucks carrying Japanese troops, and mowed-down assaulting Japanese as they advanced on him. Some have him shooting the troops still in the vehicles, others have him ambushing them as they attempt to dismount, while others have him picking them off as they advance upon him up the slope. Most of these accounts are re-tellings of previous accounts in a succession of newspaper / articles, and errors have been perpetuated, just as some of the foreign names are misspelt- for example, 'Kudamati' becomes 'Kootamatie', and 'Tan Toey' becomes 'Tan Joey' and 'Tan joel'.

56 The Gandaria is a fruiting tree, and it is unlikely that he could have made a machine-gun nest in the branches. It is doubted that he destroyed a number of trucks carrying Japanese troops, because no vehicles could have been disembarked from the wharves at this early time, and all Australian and Dutch vehicles had been destroyed (apart from a few at Eri/Latuhalat).

57 Rosenzweig, P A, "Under the Gandaria Tree - Di bawah pohon Gandaria " . Northern Perspective, 22: 89-96 (1 999).

58 Mr P Kastanja, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1997. A KNIL veteran, he later served with the Indonesian Army, was awarded the 8-year Long Service ('Loyalty') Medal, Satya Lencana Kesetiaan VIII, and held the rank of Sergeant on his retirement in 1959.

59 Mr W Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998. 60 Mr P Papilaya, pers comm (Batugadjah, Ambon), 21 August 1997. 61 Mrs B Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998. 6 2 Mr W Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998. 63 Mr L J Penny, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1997. 64 Mr W Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998. 65 Mr P Kastanja, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 4 September 1997. 66 Mr P Papilaya, pers comm (Batugadjah, Ambon), 21 August 1997. 67 Mr P Papilaya, pers comm (Batugadjah, Ambon), 21 August 1997. 68 Mr E Jones, pers comm, 17 July 1997. 69 Sunday Mail (Brisbane), 17 November 1974. 70 Post, 21 May 1964. HMAS Quadrant was used for ferrying Japanese War

Criminals to Morotai.


71 Mrs B Gaspersz, pers comm (Ambon), 1 May 1998. 7 2 Undated newspaper clipping, circa 1 946, provided by Ms W Doolan. 73 Ambon News, 7 November 1945. 7 4 "Rose in Her Hair", lyrics by AI Dubin and music by Harry Warren,

copyrighted in New York in 1935. 7 5 Ambon News, Undated clipping, circa 1946, provided by Ms W Doolan. 76 "Morotai Moon", Jim Baker (64th Battalion), 1990. 77 People, 6 April 1955; Post, 7 November 1963; The Mirror, Daily

Magazine, 16 February 1977. 78 Letter (unattributed) to Mr C Righetti dated 29 October 1956, provided by

Ms W Doolan. 79 From a newspaper clipping, "Ballad of Bill Doolan", in the possession of

Mr P Kastanja, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1997. Brown had served during the war as an artillery officer, and was Director of the AIF's War Graves Service from 1942 until 1946, and then SecretaryGeneral of the Imperial War Graves Commission until 1960.

80 The Mirror, Daily Magazine, 16 February 1977. This story relates to Oscar Tjio (Simona).

81 Sejarah Kebangkitan Nasional Daerah Maluku. Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Maluku, 1977/78, pp.149-1 SO. /

82 Jinkins (1967b), Section 6, p.3. 83 Jinkins (1967b), Section 7, p.1. 84 Mr L J Penny, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1997. 85 Ms W Doolan, pers comm (Ambon), 28 April 1998. Conditions had been

fairly basic, even primitive, on the 1981 Pilgrimage and, while the veterans themselves saw the conditions as a vast improvement since the last time they had been at Tan Toey, most of the women said they would never return.

86 For example: People, 6 April 1955; Australasian Post, 6 December 1956; Australasian Post, 7 November 1963; The Mirror, Daily Magazine, 16 February 1977; Canberra Times, 29 December 1996; Melbourne Herald Sun, 23 April 1998. Soon after the war, one veteran mistakenly claimed that Doolan had actually been awarded the VC, and was therefore "me of the few, if not the only, Australians to be awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously upon the uncorroberated testimony of natives " (Letter, unattributed, dated 29 October 1956, provided by Ms W Doolan). He may have been misled by a post-war remark by Captain D E Stockwell, Officer Commanding, Australian War Graves Unit, Ambon, who reported that the Netherlands Government had awarded Doolan a posthumous decoration, the Dutch equivalent of the Victoria Cross. This was not so however, and the family never received any official notification of this (Undated newspaper clippings, circa 1946, provided by Ms W Doolan; Ms W Doolan, pers comm, Ambon, 28 April 1998).

Pilgrimage Ziarah 132

8 7 It was agreed that the plaque could not go inside the walls of the Australian Memorial at Kudamati because that memorial honoured ill Australians and Ambonese involved in the conflict. Initially it was hoped to affix the plaque on the external wall, but then some local Ambonese claimed that it properly belonged further up the hill where the Gandaria tree used to be. The plaque has been retained by John Gaspersz, Caretaker of the Ambon War Cemetery, for future placement.

88 Ms W Doolan, pers comm (Ambon), 28 April 1998. During this visit, Wendy Doolan renewed her friendship with Paul Kastanja and his family, and interviewed Kastanja at length using a reliable local interpreter. He proved to be consistent in his telling of the story, independently correlating with a version told by Bill Gaspersz.

89 Ms W Doolan, pers comm (Kudamati, Ambon), 25 April 1998. 90 Mr P Papilaya, pers comm (Batugadjah, Ambon), 21 August 1997;

Mr J Pattiselanno, pers comm (Paperu, Saparua), 13 August 1997; Mr J Pattiselanno, pers comm (Ambon), 21 August 1997.

91 Ms W Doolan, pers comm (Ambon), 28 April, 2 December 1998. 92 His Excellency Mr J McCarthy, Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Address

to the Gull Force Anzac Eve dinner, Ambon, 24 April1998. 93 His Excellency Mr J McCarthy (Ambon), 24 April 1997. 94 The Hon Alexander Downer MP, Address to the Gull Force Anzac Eve dinner,

Ambon, 24 April 1997. 9 5 Powell, A W, Far Country. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1982,

p.30; Forrest, P, The Tiwi meet the Dutch: The First European Contacts. Tiwi Land Council, 1995. Willem van Colster gave Dutch names to various features - including Cape Arnhem and Groote Eylandt - which still persist today, acknowledging the Dutch discovery of the eastern Northern Territory coast in vessels which had sailed from Ambon.

96 RAAF News, October 1987; Daily Telegraph, 17 September 1988; 73 Squadron Newsletter (various); Mrs G Shead, pers comm, 23 October 1996.

97 Mr Jan Pattiselanno, pers comm, April 1996; Mr John Pattiselanno, pers comm (Paperu, Saparua), 13 August 1997; Mr John Pattiselanno, pers comm (Ambon), 21 August 1997; Mr J L (Nes) Pattiselanno, pers comm (Ambon), 21 August 1997. Jan Pattiselanno had been born in Paperu village (Saparua Island) in 1912, and died there in 1998.

98 Mr J L Pattiselanno, pers comm (Batugadjah, Ambon), 21 August 1997. 99 Mr J Pattiselanno, pers comm (Batugadjah, Ambon), 21 August 1997. 1 00 Gull Force Hall, within Larrakeyah Barracks, was dedicated on 2 May 1989

in a ceremony organised by Brigadier lan Bryant ADC, Commander Northern Command. In the presence of 18 fellow veterans Lieutenant Colonel Rod Gabriel MBE ED (retd) unveiled a commemorative plaque in recognition of the service of the 2/21 st Battalion Group in Darwin and Ambon.

101 Letter of Intent signed in Ambon on 28 October 1988 by J Dicky Wattimena ( Walikotamadya of the Municipality of Ambon, 1985-91) and Mr Alec Fong Lim AM (Lord Mayor of Darwin, 1984-90).

/


1 0 2 There was no camp or cemetery at Haikou however; the bodies in the cemetery at Hashio, where the prison camp had been located, were transferred to Yokohama in 1946-4 7.

103 "The impact of change in Maluku Province, eastern Indonesia", collaborative project between Associate Professors David Mearns and Chris Healey (NTU) and Ms Hermien Soselisa and Mr Tonny Pariela (Universitas Pattimura). Northern Territory University 1995/96 Research Report, NTU, Darwin, 1997, p.45.

104 Milne, J, "Australia's links with Ambon". Indonesian Studies, 70(7&2), 1993: p.38; Pattikayhatu, J A, "Kerjasama pasukan Australia-KNIL dan Rakyat Ambon menghadapi penyerbuan T entara Jepang di Pulau Ambon, Indonesia pada Perang Dunia Kedua". Indonesian Studies, 7 0(1&2), 1993: pp.18-31; Perkins Shipping Darwin to Ambon Yacht Race brochures, 1995, 1996, 1997; Mrs Diana Clifford (de Lima), pers comm (Ambon), 20 August 1997.

1 0 5 Brigadier Chris Roberts AM CSC, Commander Northern Command, Address to the Gull Force Anzac Eve dinner, Ambon, 24 April 1997.

106 On completion of an AMD project, a metre-tall cement monument is positioned prominently, proudly displaying the initials AMD and the details of the project. This monument is in the form of a pentagon with the quadService ABRI badge inside - the insignia of the Department of Defence and Security, HANKAM (Departemen Pertahanan dan Keamanan).

107 Northern Territory News, 6 May 1991. 108 Brigadier Chris Roberts AM CSC (Ambon), 24 April 1997. 1 09 See Ball, D, "The political-Security dimension of Australia and the Asia

Pacific region". Indonesian Quarterly, 12(3), p.243 (1994); Niessl, Lieutenant R A, "The relevance of the Defence Cooperation Program between Australia and Indonesia". Australian Defence Force Journal, 130, p49 (May/ June 1998).

11 0 Department of Defence, "The Defence of Australia", Defence White Paper 1987, AGPS, Canberra, 1 987; Department of Defence, "Defending Australia", Defence White Paper 1994, AGPS, Canberra, 1994, p.87.

111 Department of Defence, Australia's Strategic Policy, AGPS, Canberra, 1997, p.22.

11 2 DuPont, A, "The Australia-Indonesia security agreement". Australian Quarterly, 68(2), p.49 (1996).

11 3 For example, the respective Defence Ministers meet annually, our respective Navies conduct bilateral exercises, and officer exchanges are made on RAAF P3C Orion and TNI-AU Searchmaster maritime surveillance patrols (Mclachlan, I, "Defence Policy and Regional Cooperation with Asia". Address by the Honourable lan Mclachlan AO MP, Minister for Defence, to the Government Defence, Trade and Foreign Affairs Committee, Canberra, 3 December 1996).

114 Mclachlan, I, "Australia and the United States into the next Century". Address by the Honourable lan Mclachlan AO MP, Minister for Defence, to the Australian Institute of International Affairs 22nd National Conference, Brisbane, 22 November 1996.


11 5 Brigadier C A M Roberts AM CSC, Commander Northern Command, Address at Makan Patita, Latuhalat (Ambon), 26 April 1997.


Paul A Rosenzweig

- 5 -

CLOSURE

- 5 -

CLOSURE

5 .1 Grieving

The annual Anzac Day commemorative services on Ambon have

primarily given the survivors and families the opportunity of

honouring the service and sacrifice of Australians and Ambonese

alike. It is suggested that the Pilgrimages have also served a

wider purpose in assuaging grief and finalising emotions. In the

circumstances of the Pilgrimage can be identified some of the

psychological stages which are now well known to grief

counsellors, and can be identified in people who suffer extreme

trauma or shock (denial, anger, bargaining, grieving and

acceptance). Through the Pilgrimages, families have gained

insight and understanding of the tragic circumstances on Ambon,

while the veterans themselves have overcome their post -war

anger and bitterness and have looked to the future with a

positive attitude. They have harnessed the latent energy of their

darkest emotions and have converted it into what is here

described as 'Sustainable Remembrance' - honouring the past, but

working positively with a practical view to the future.

The immediate reaction in most cases of severe shock or

trauma is a refusal to accept reality. The Gull Force survivors

demonstrated this 'denial' stage immediately after their liberation

- they felt that memories of their ordeal should be suppressed, or

Closure 136

even denied, and forgetting was part of their post -war

adjustment. Barney McLcavy suppressed his memories and

concurrently denied the reality of his post-war responsibilities, as

his wife Jean recalled:

He just sat down and said to me, 'Well, we're married', and he said 'the responsibility's going to be on your shoulders. If you have children they're going to be your responsibility, and I do not want to see a bill'. He said, 'I've had enough responsibility while I've been away' I.

The families who lost a husband or father were generally left

uninformed of the circumstances of death, and the perpetuation

of this uncertainty - with no funeral and no tangible grave to visit /

- meant that in many families there was no finalisation to the

grieving process. Doreen Eva noted that her mother just shut this

aspect out of her life: "But Mum doesn't want to hear anything

about it; she says she doesn't want to hear any more about it at

all " 2. Lieutenant Lazarus, executed at Laha on 6 February

1942, was identified in 1946 from personal effects found on his

exhumed body. Nearly fifty years later, a nephew found that he

lived near a Gull Force survivor so many long conversations were

held in an attempt to understand the uncle's fate. The nephew's

father however, had nothing to say: "His father has never been

able to come to terms with the fate of his brother " 3. Anne

Ahearn similarly noted that her mother was unable to cope. She

moved to Brisbane to take on a new life, rarely ever referred to

Anne's father, and never remarried: "She never really said 'Dad'.

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She just shut the door " 4. Bill Doolan's widow Kathleen, on the

other hand, was left with two young girls to raise so she

remarried, as Wendy Doolan reflected: "Because I was young, and

Mum remarried when I was three, my father was never

mentioned. I just presumed my so-called step-father was my

father " s.

It is widely accepted that there is a period of anger

following trauma: a dying patient, for example, may blame

medical staff for being unable to help. It has long been a sore

point that POW camps in Malaya, Singapore and Thailand have

been widely publicised, while Ambon and Hainan have rarely

been mentioned. Among the veterans, there was also anger at

the 'insensitivity' of the military in replacing their established

and trusted Commanding Officer, and for abandoning them on

Ambon unsupported. The survivors recognise that an inadequate

force was sent to a remote outpost, with no provision to be

reinforced or evacuated; Lionel Penny says, "We called ourselves

'The Lost Battalion'. And they sure lost us, didn't they? " 6.

Others see the Gull Force story as one of political ineptitude and

poor strategical planning. Ron Leech reviewed the "hopelessly

flawed decisions" and "folly" of Wavell (Commander ABDA

Command), Sturdee (Chief of the General Staff) and Rowell

(Deputy Chief of the General Staff), and notes that Sturdee later

recognised that the policy of trying to hold isolated islands with

inadequate resources needed review 7. Rod Gabriel's son observed

that Gabriel's respect and admiration for the Ambonese is

Closure 138

renowned, but he did feel betrayed by the politicians of the time,

noting that, "Ambon was a political decision, not a military

one " B. The decorated Ambonese veteran julius Tahija later

spoke of the Australian government's strategy and the fact that

its post-war efforts to keep it secret, "reflect largely a desire not

to expose what was at best faulty decision making " 9. In their

more bitter moments however, some survivors recognise that

there was no ineptitude: it was a deliberate and calculated

strategy of sacrifice, to purchase a delay with human lives.

In some models of the grieving process, there is a stage

called 'bargaining', in which a dying patient, for example, tries to

plead for an extension of their time, to take care of unfinished

business. This can be identified in the continued efforts of Bill

Jinkins and Gull Force Association as they formulated a plan to

honour the sacrifice and loyalty of the indigenous Ambonese.

Despite the many, not insignificant, obstacles - a War of

Independence, the RMS and Permesta Rebellions, military

'confrontations' with the Netherlands and Malaysia, and a Soviet

presence on Ambon itself- Jinkins persisted with his intention of

repaying a debt to the Ambonese.

The most significant of the psychological stages following

death or trauma is a period of 'grieving'. All societies recognise

the significance of death as a 'milestone' when reflecting on

people's lives, and have particular methods of finalising emotions.

The end of the grieving phase is typically marked by some form

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of funeral custom which symbolises the 'separation' of the dead

from the living community. Many societies use a practitioner to

conduct the ceremony, who often assists relatives and friends in

vocalising their memories of the departed. Significant in these

ceremonies is a moment where relatives and friends gather

around the body of the deceased, often enclosed within some

form of coffin. Christians offer prayers at this time, some

Aboriginal customs incorporate wailing or 'smoking', and there is

often a firing of volleys over the coffin of a uniformed person

killed on duty. Finally, the body is disposed of- cremated, buried

or housed in a sarcophagus within a mausoleum, for example. In

some societies, it is important to allow the corpse to decompose in

a shallow grave, within a tree or upon a scaffold, thereby allowing

the soul or spirit to escape from the body. Following such

funerary procedures, almost all societies have a recognised period

of mourning. Grieving relatives may wear black clothing or black

armbands, and Aboriginals have taboos on speaking or even

publishing the name of the deceased.

Funerals provide a means for grieving relatives and friends

to openly display their grief, thereby channelling their intense

emotions into non-destructive paths. The symbolism of such a

procedure is striking in its simplicity - the ceremony itself

provides a tangible moment of grieving, while the coffin, grave or

headstone provides a focus for the outpouring of grief and the

finalisation of the emotions associated with loss. The whole

procedure provides a necessary psychological mechanism to allow

a chapter to close and to allow the living to go on with their lives.

/

Closure 140

Walter Hicks recognised that, for most of the wives, sisters or

other relatives who participated in a Pilgrimage, it was their first

visit to the gravesite, and invariably, it would be their only visit.

In all cases, it brought to an end their grieving process which had

been going on for decades and brought, "a sense of finiteness to

their memories" of their lost relativelO.

In common with his colleagues, Bill Page was awarded the

1939-45 Star, Pacific Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-45

and Australian Service Medal 1939-45, and received the

Returned from Active Service Badge. In addition, in preparation

for the 50th Anniversary Pilgrimage in 1992, he obtained three

unofficial medals: the Infantry Frontline Service Medalll, the

Australian Prisoner-of-War Association Cross, and the

International Prisoner-of-War Medal. These are not official

awards but rather, medals instituted by particular ex-service

organisations to recognise service not otherwise acknowledged.

To many, the standard campaign medals covering a great time

period or vast area of operations do not accurately reflect an

individual's particular service. Page notes that he obtained these

medals as a means of acknowledging his service as a POW, mainly

for the sake of his family who had, up to that time, heard very

little of his wartime experiences. These unofficial medals,

particularly the two relating to his service as a prisoner-of-war

which carry the stark symbolism of barbed-wire, took the place

of a black armband, and showed finally that there was no shame

in what he had endured, but instead, that he had survived.

/

Closure 141

Wearing the medals allowed him to both recognise his own

service and at the same time openly grieve for his mates who

were not as fortunate as he.

Finally, a dying patient prepares to die with dignity, or a

family accepts the reality of a loss. When Doreen Eva made her

first Pilgrimage to Ambon in 1998, she gained some answers to

her many unresolved questions, and observed that she can now

reflect on her memories of her father without as much painl2.

Max Gilbert entered this phase when he was able to name his son

after his closest mate Eric Stagg13, and so too Les Hohl who named

his sons Norman and Phillip after his two best mates who had

died on Ambon14. Full acceptance was perhaps realised by Hohl

only when he was able to bring his thoughts and fears into

printlS.

Bill Page first returned to Darwin and Ambon in April 1981;

he returned again to Ambon in 1992 accompanied by his son

John, and had the privilege of laying the official wreath at the

Cenotaph on behalf of the 2/21st Battalion AIF. This Pilgrimage

proved to be Page's turning-point: in reflecting on his own war

service and difficulty in re-adjusting to post-war life he gained

some insight into his own father's return from the Great War and

early death. He realised the need for his own children to

understand his experiences, so he took the opportunity to focus

on the period of captivity and reveal carefully selected portions

of his life to his family. By wearing the POW medals, he accepted

/

Closure 142

the reality of his period of confinement and attempted to put

behind himself any feelings of anger or bitterness. His unofficial

medals became an important tangible symbol of this emotional

transition. Page had been born in Melbourne in 1921, the son of

Walter George Pagei6 who had fought with D Company of the 7th

Battalion AIF in World War 1. He survived Krithia, Lone Pine,

Messines, Pozieres, Polygon Wood and Hazebrouck, was gassed,

and was profoundly affected by his wartime experiences, leaving

his son orphaned at the age of 7. Bill Page enlisted on 1 july

1940 and joined the 2/21st Battalion, and was ironically allocated

to D Company. In 1993, the 7th Battalion AIF Association

arranged for a bronze memorial plaque to be installed on one of

the walls at the Darwin Cenotaph, and the site selected was

coincidentally beside the plaque previously installed by veterans

of the 2/Zlst Battalion. For Bill Page this was immensely

significant, to have the plaques and colour patches of his and his

father's units alongside each other to perpetuate the history of

their service. This and the previous year's Pilgrimage allowed

Page to finally enter a phase of acceptance. He does not wear the

unofficial medals any more, because there is no longer the need

to dwell on the particular service they represent. They served

the purpose of bringing him to share his history with his family,

which he had been denied from his own father, and now he

would rather focus on the post-war achievements of Gull Force

Association and the Pilgrimages and aid projects they have

successfully initiated and carried out.

/

Closure 143

Unknown Soldiers

The Gull Force Pilgrimage holds some parallels to the practice of

honouring an 'Unknown Soldier' as a symbol of a nation's

collective loss, by allowing survivors and families the opportunity

to grieve that they were denied during wartime. These poignant

ceremonies meld unit and personal memories, and in this manner

the Pilgrimage can be seen to have assisted the grieving process

of the corporate entity - Gull Force Association.

Honouring an 'unknown warrior' is actually a long

established concept17, but it is not surprising that Britain

entombed one in an elaborate ceremony because almost all of

Britain's dead were buried in foreign countries which a family

might never be able to visit18, Therefore there were millions of

Britons who never had the opportunity to participate in a funeral

or visit a grave as compared to the situation in, say, America,

where repatriation was promised19, On Armistice Day 1920, the

body of an anonymous British soldier from the battlefields of

France was accorded a State funeral in Westminster Abbey, and

the coffin was carried by Field-Marshals, Admirals and Generals

through the streets of London, followed by King George V on foot.

A tomb containing his remains was installed in the floor of

Westminster Abbey to represent the unknown dead from

throughout the Empirezo. The symbolism was deliberately

striking. Described as "one of the war's most obscure

victims " 21, the body was honoured by the war's greatest

leaders and the head of one of the world's greatest Empires. This

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'Unknown Warrior' was to be a symbol of the nation's collective

loss, and his entombing was to provide a tangible moment of

grieving, particularly for those who had lost a loved one without

confirmation of the death or without a known burial site.

To represent the 23,000 Australian soldiers from the Great

War who have no known grave, the body of an unidentified

Australian soldier was similarly taken from a military cemetery

in France and was reinterred in a tomb built in the centre of the

Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial on 11 November

199322. The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and

State Premiers followed the coffin on foot along Anzac Parade,

with the Governor-General walking solemnly behind them all.

The British ceremony in 1920 marked a significant change

in public recognition- from the Kings and Commanders who have

traditionally been honoured by victors, to recognising the basic

yet dedicated service of the ordinary soldier. An ordinary

person, not one honoured for bravery, but with a sense of duty.

As the Australian Prime Minister said in his eulogy for the

Unknown Australian Soldier - the ordinary people were the

heroes of the war, "not the generals and the politicians but the

soldiers and sailors and nurses " 23, While this common person

had received the accolades · on 11 November 1920, Field

Marshals, Admirals and Generals left their carriages to act as pall

bearers, followed by the Head of the Empire himself. So too in

Australia 73 years later. In a similar manner, Gull Force

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Association was insistent in honouring, not a commander or

politician, but common men and women, Australian and

Ambonese alike.

The entombing of the Australian Unknown Warrior was

discussed by many commentators, but their analysis was

incomplete. The Australian War Memorial correctly observed

that the tomb would "provide for the Australian people one grave

which stands for the graves - mostly overseas - of all those

100,000 whose names appear on the Roll of Honour nearby "24.

The Project Manager for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

considered that its placement in the War Memorial combined

'commemoration' and 'history' 25. Another conferred upon the

Hall of Memory the role that war historian Charles Bean had

originally envisaged, of engendering "reverent recollection " 26,

The Prime Minister reflected that the Unknown Soldier "honours

the memory of all those men and women who laid down their

lives for Australia " 27. These statements are all undeniably

true, and reflect the unquestioned need for national mourning

and national memory. Yet the Unknown Soldier allows something

more. The various memorials at Laha, Kudamati and the Ambon

War Cemetery have equally provided a focus for 'honouring the

memory of the fallen' and 'reverent recollection'. But they too

have offered something more. The Pilgrimage, as with the

Unknown Warrior, has allowed individual veterans and family

members the opportunity to bring their grieving and mourning to

a close.

Closure 146

The Commonwealth's need to mourn after the Great War

was satisfied by one tangible moment of collective grieving in

1920 - in what has been called a 'chronotope', a bringing together

of national and personal memory28. The Gull Force Pilgrimages

have similarly done so, but at a relatively inaccessible site, over a

period of years. This is one of the main reasons for the

significance of the Gull Force Pilgrimage. Almost all of the

battalion's dead are buried and commemorated in a single

cemetery in a foreign country. The location or even existence of

these graves was not known to the Australian families for over

twenty years, so they were denied the opportunity to participate

in a funeral or visit a grave. Even after the inauguration of the

Ambon War Cemetery, most Australian families still did not have

the ability to visit. Private Neil Bromley's name is listed on the

Ambon War Memorial for those with no known grave; his sister

recalls that there was no official advice to the family, but

enquiries later in the war revealed Neil's death. To this day, the

family has not had the opportunity to visit the Ambon War

Cemetery29.

Initially, only Gull Force members could join the Pilgrimage,

but with reducing numbers able to return on an annual basis, the

criteria was opened up to sons of Gull Force veterans and

Corvetteers - crew of the navy vessels which had rescued the

survivors in late 1945. Those selected each year to join the

official Pilgrimage have their out-of-pocket expenses defrayed by

Gull Force Association. Wives and daughters, as with members of

Closure 147

the post-war occupation force on Ambon, have not until recently

been eligible for membership of Gull Force Association. It became

a financial fact of life that those veterans who wished to take

wives and other family members with them had to travel at their

own expense, either travelling privately or, increasingly in more

recent times, with an RSL Travel Group. Accompanying Harry

Williams in 1996 for the first time was his daughter Keryn, who

described the opportunity to travel to Ambon with him as a

"privilege " 30. Maggie Scott, the daughter of a Staff-Sergeant

executed at Laha, joined the RSL tour group in 1997, and Walter

Hicks also brought his wife and daughters to Ambon for the first

time. They, Maggie Scott and Keryn Williams banded together

and at first called themselves the 'Daughters of Gull Force', but

were not impressed with the acronym (DOG) they had created, so

instead referred to themselves as the 'Daughters of Ambon'31.

The affinity which has developed between the veterans and the

Ambonese has made Ambon and Tantui into special places of

almost mystical significance. There is no doubt that the

traditional father-son bond no longer must be relied upon to

maintain the significance of this special affinity, and the future

participation in these pilgrimages by brothers, sisters, children

and grandchildren of veterans will ensure their continuation.

Despite the value of the Shrine of Remembrance in

Melbourne, or Anzac Day parades before Crosses of Sacrifice

anywhere in Australia itself, the Pilgrimage to Ambon has taken

the form of a 'chronotope', allowing a combining of corporate and

Closure 148

personal memory. And increasingly with greater Government,

Defence and diplomatic participation, the Pilgrimage has drawn

Gull Force more into the national memory. It has permitted Gull

Force Association to honour the Battalion Group whose name and

memory it perpetuates, and has allowed the finalisation of the

personal grieving process for individual veterans and family

members.

5.2 The Processes served by the Pilgrimage

It was only following the initiation of the Gull Force Pilgrimage to

Ambon and the establishment of the Ambon War Cemetery that

families and veterans had the opportunity to properly pay their

last respects and effect a degree of closure to their private

grieving. Participation in a Pilgrimage provides a tangible

moment of grieving, particularly for those who had lost a loved

one without confrrmation of the death, or without a known burial

site. There are five key aspects to the psychological processes the

Pilgrimage has served:

a it has provided the survivors with the opportunity to

properly grieve that they were denied during the war;

b. it has provided family members with an opportunity to

grieve;

c. it has played a role in finalising the emotions associated with

loss;

Closure 149

d it has assisted in developing a sense of unity within Gull

Force Association; and

e. it has allowed the veterans to institute a scheme of

'Sustainable Remembrance'.

A chance for the survivors to grieve

In suppressing their memories of captivity, many of the emotions

associated with the deaths of their mates were equally

suppressed. There was no counselling after repatriation, and

most were unwilling (or unable) to share their burdens with their

families, so they shouldered the emotional load alone. In so

doing, they never fully finalised their own personal grieving,

which has now been allowed through participation in Pilgrimage

visits.

Tom Pledger knew little of the brutality and deaths within

Tan Toey Camp because he was one of many who was sent to

Hainan, while he did not learn of the execution of his mates at

Laha until after the war32. In escaping from Ambon, 'Bluey'

Drane similarly did not know of the massacres at Laha. For those

that did remain in Tan Toey, the circumstances of what they

endured did not allow for any form of grieving. Walter Hicks

observed: "We stood too close to so much death and destruction,

for so long, that grief was driven from our psyches " 33. George

Williamson and Eric Kelly similarly observed that the Pilgrimage

has offered them a chance to pay their respects to their dead

mates, because they were unable to do it properly while they

Closure 150

were burying them. As the death rate in Tan Toey rose ( 42 men

died during May, 72 during june, and then 94 during july 1945),

burials became an everyday duty, a mechanical chore.

Williamson recalled:

I've got a few mates in the cemetery, in fact I've got a lot of 'em, and I was on nearly every burial party from the Camp. And when you're taking your mate up to put 'im in the ground, well, you get a sort of funny feeling, don't you? As fast as you'd run up and done one, there'd almost be another one ready to go up again when we'd come back 34.

Kelly pointedly observed that there was simply no time for

reflection or grieving when their mates were dying at a rate of

two men every day. Max Gilbert recalled the attitude which had

developed by July 1945 when he lost the only other surviving

member of his mortar detachment:

Arriving back at camp from a work party late in the afternoon, and lined up at the guard-house to be checked in, we would ask the duty officer '»'hat's for tea?' followed by '»'ho's dead?' 35.

As Kelly observed, it was a time for being thankful that you

weren't one of them (yet) and for maintaining hope, perhaps

hardening a little in order to do so: "People would be coming in

from a work party and they'd say 'who died today?'. 'Oh, joe

Blow'. 'Oh, that bastard, let him walk up himselfl' " 36.

A chance for families to grieve

The families of those who died were denied the opportunity of

Closure 151

finalising emotions as would normally have occurred at a funeral,

and were denied the comfort of at least knowing that there was a

grave bearing a headstone to acknowledge the sacrifice. Their

grieving too, was largely suppressed. For the family members

who participate, a Pilgrimage allows them to progress beyond

grieving and attain what is described as 'emotional closure'.

The ADF Chaplain officiating during the 1998 Pilgrimage

related that, "Death is an unfocused thing ",and further observed

that, "The Pilgrimage allows a focus through knowledge and

remembrance " 37. The Services at Laha, Ambon War Cemetery

and Kudamati have given participating family members the form

of closure traditionally offered by a funeral, allowing them to

openly express their grief while also attaining a degree of

understanding. Walter Hicks notes that he has often been called

upon to inform the widows and children of the circumstances of a

death: "I could fill in some of the details . . . information which

gave them a great deal of comfort, many years, of course, later

than it should have been given " 38.

During his first Pilgrimage in 1992, Wally Parker had

identified the site of his father's death, giving his death a degree

of finiteness. His second visit in 1997 was more based on the

bond that had been established: "Always, as long as I live, part of

me's still here on Ambon " 39. One of the few American

survivors, Ed Weiss similarly reflected: "I still feel a good part of

me is still over there " 40. Rick Fiddian, who participated in

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Pilgrimages in 1995 and 1998, recalled: "I never really knew

what happened to my father " 41. In later life, he began to

question more the circumstances of what had happened but this

was difficult without a gravesite at which to focus his emotions.

It was only through a personal visit to Laha that he gained some

understanding: "Those gaps were filled in and I feel that I now

know the truth, or as near to the truth as is possible to

establish " 42. Barney McLeavy's second daughter Lynn was just

starting to become aware of the Ambon story when he died in

1986, and she reflected that trying to visualise the soldiers living

and working on Ambon was like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle.

In visiting Ambon during the 1998 Pilgrimage, places and events

she vaguely knew of could be related to the actual geography of

the island: "I can put it all together now, the picture's there " 43.

Finalising emotions

As the family members gained understanding about their father

or husband and gave their memories finiteness, Walter Hicks

noted that the Pilgrimage, "really achieved the effect of assuaging

grief " 44 and effected a process of finalising emotions. Anne

Ahearn noted on Ambon in 1998 that her own personal anger has

faded as she has gained knowledge of the Ambon story, and of

her first visit to Ambon she said, "This has been an experience for

me, most certainly, that I have actually been to my father's

grave " 45. In trying to summarise what this Pilgrimage meant

to her personally, she perhaps defined the true value of the

Pilgrimage: "I think it will probably close a door that probably

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was never quite closed before " 46. Similarly, a visitor from

Geelong wrote in the Ambon War Cemetery's Visitors Book that

her visit represented, "A page closed " 47.

Following the funeral of the Unknown Australian Soldier,

after the final prayers there was spontaneous (and

unprogrammed) applause from the audience. One journalist

noted the sudden change of mood: "It was as if we had all shed a

burden " 48. So it is on Ambon, where visiting a grave or a

memorial allows the relative to finalise their grieving. Their

Pilgrimage to Ambon becomes the milestone, instead of the

funeral, which allows them to begin the process of recovery from

grief. As with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and similar

monuments, the Ambon memorials have provided a focus for

what Margery Moore described as the 'last farewell'. She later

expressed her pleasure at having had the opportunity to visit

both the sites of her brother's death (Laha) and burial (Tantui):

"On returning to the airport, I happened to turn my head and saw

the Cemetery. This was a very emotional moment when I made

my last farewell to Alex " 49. Walter Hicks again identified:

Some were laying wreaths on behalf of their departed mothers who grieved all their life for the loss of a loved one and never had the opportunity of paying that last tribute. To them, this ceremony took the place of the funeral which almost always is essential to the initiation of recovery from grief so.

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Developing Unity

Given the horrendous death rates experienced in Tan Toey, an

equally high death rate might have been expected in the

immediate post-war period, but it actually seems to have been

contrary to this, as Walter Hicks observed:

Some fellows, whose survival of Tan Toey verged on the miraculous, lasted only a few years, and some from Hainan Island camp also passed on. By and large, the rest of us settled down to the 'ten, even twenty years of good life ahead of us' given that we observed the proviso laid down by the Medical General at AGH Heidelberg - that we were 'not to booze, smoke heavily, whorize or knock ourselves about' s1.

American research later showed that there was a greater death

rate among men who had been prisoners of the japanese (and

also of the North Koreans in the Korean War) compared to those

who had been held in European prison camps52, so the prediction

was probably valid. But, from a situation where the prisoners

had a potential life-expectancy of just weeks or even days,

suddenly the thought of living until 1965 was like a glimpse of

Utopia. This view of his post-war prospects caused Hicks to

reflect on what had helped them survive captivity:

The fact that the post-war death rate was within almost normal bounds, for ex-service personnel, brought back to me with great poignancy something that Capt Peter Davidson, our senior Tan Toey Camp MO, said to me while I Jay in hospital in the first few weeks of our imprisonment 53.

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Hicks had been hospitalised with septicaemia from a large

tropical ulcer on the leg, and he recalls that one evening Davidson

had said, "I'll say this to you only once, and I want you to

remember it well: Loss of hope will kill a man more surely than

any bullet " 54. As he pondered on the post -war period in

comparison to their period of captivity, Hicks reflected:

Loss of hope killed as many fellows in Tan Toey as disease or starvation, although these factors compounded the situation. With hope regained, the men stopped dying; only two more died after the war was finished 55.

Their mateship and belief in their own survival were the biggest

assets the prisoners had. Max Gilbert, who lost his three closest

mates on Ambon, later recorded, "I have no doubt whatever that

having a staunch mate in such circumstances contributed

significantly to my ultimate survival " 56. George Williamson

reflected on why he survived captivity: "Because I put it in me

mind I was going to get home. And I was determined to get

home " 57. In 1998, the officiating Chaplain on Ambon noted

that, "The symbol for many that were in captivity was, 'what life

will be like after captivity'. The commitment was, when they are

freed, not if " 58. These remarks can be compared with the

experiences of four Gulf War prisoners who survived captivity at

the hands of the Iraqis: "The most compelling lesson which can

be drawn from the experiences of these Coalition PWs is that

survival is almost always possible " 59.

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As they had supported each other in captivity, those who

survived soon established an association which would serve the

purpose of supporting each other and their mates' families. The

earliest days of Gull Force Association were very unsettled

however. There remained a gap between the officers and men

(not just rank-based, but based on behaviours and attitudes in

the camps60) and this was carried over into the Association. The

class distinction was reinforced as they settled into their post-war

jobs, although there was some confusion as some former soldiers

achieved managerial status. The division was emphasised as

initially the executive committee comprised mainly former

officers. There was a strong need seen to have Lieutenant Colonel

Roach involved in the Association, yet the two most prominent

figures to many of the survivors were Lieutenant Colonel Scott

and Major Westley, the two respective camp commanders on

Hainan and Ambon.

On the night of February 2nd, Major Ian Macrae had led a

fighting patrol from Eri to Latuhalat and, on hearing that the

battalion was going to surrender, gave his approval for

Lieutenant Chapman to lead an escape party. Chapman's party,

totalling 21, went successively to Nusalaut, Saparua, Seram, Tual

and Dobo. From Dobo, ten men went in a sailboat (nicknamed 'Old

Gloria'), while the others climbed aboard a timber merchant's

motor boat which carried the rations - the intention being that

this boat could tow Old Gloria if it fell calm. Doug Macintosh

recalls hearing the diesel motor boat pass them by in the night,

and then it was never seen again61. The men on Old Gloria went,

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without food, to Merauke in Dutch New Guinea and thence to

Normanton, while the others went independently to Merauke and

Thursday Island. The members of Chapman's escape party never

came to resolve the dissent which arose because of this split

between the two boats, and a reunion of the original escape party

of 21 was never held62.

There was also clear rift between the survivors of Tan Toey

and those who had been at Hashio on Hainan, each claiming to

have suffered greater distress and tragedy than the other. Just as

Lionel Penny calls Gull Force 'The Lost Battalion', he further notes:

"Still further lost into oblivion- the Hainan Boys- you hear vezy

little of us. The full story of Gull Force will not be complete until

the full Hainan story is told " 63. The tensions between Ambon

and Hainan survivors often broke and there was occasional

violence at reunions while, because of the strong ill-feeling, some

survivors simply refused to attend64.

It was at this stage that Bill Jinkins redirected the

committee's focus to the possibility of conducting a return visit to

Ambon. The conduct of the first visit in 196 7 held a particular

significance for Gull Force Association itself, as one veteran noted:

"That Pilgrimage brought our Association together, perhaps more

than anything else before or since. The difference between

Hainan Island and Tan Toey survivors went into limbo " 65. The

gaining of permission for the 196 7 Pilgrimage was achieved

almost solely through the dedication of Bill Jinkins, who then

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fought to continue the visits and was successful in securing

government and Service support. Gull Force veterans are

unanimous in their praise of Jinkins66; Hicks, for example, noted:

"Bill Jinkins was an indefatigueable worker in this cause and he

handed over to Rod Gabriel a complete working 'set-up' " 67.

The annual Pilgrimages really began in earnest in the seventies,

and after the death of Jinkins, Gabriel took over the

organisational side and was Chairman of the Ambon Pilgrimage

Committee from its inception. Further, Gabriel was the

Association President from 1996 to 1999 - "the body and soul of

Gull Force (2/21 Bn) Association " 68. Walter Hicks, a senior

manager in the State Bank of Victoria and for 25 years Treasurer

of Gull Force Association (made an Honorary Life Member in

recognition of his efforts), noted:

I freely concede that Rod Gabriel's continued organisation of the Pilgrimages has been the cohesive factor that kept the Association going 69.

It was this determination to continue, as there had been

determination in 1942-45 to not give up hope, that has ensured

success for Gull Force Association. Walter Hicks observed of the

survivors' collective determination: "this perhaps more than any

other factor brought the factions together and gave new purpose

to the existence of the Association " 70. This attitude of not

giving up hope, of honouring their mates, and of repaying a debt

of gratitude, has given the corporate entity of Gull Force a

collective will to survive. The veterans have not allowed

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themselves to wallow in regrets, self-pity and frustration but

have striven to re-affirm their commitment each year with

renewing vigour. As Walter Hicks reflected:

I never cease to marvel that we have lasted so long. Ian Macrae is in his nineties, Gabriel and half-a-dozen others (some not ex-officers) are in their eighties, and all others in their late seven ties, beyond the allotted span of life of 'three score years and ten' of Biblical quote 71.

Perhaps surprisingly, of the 301 men evacuated from Tan Toey

and Hainan and the 46 who escaped (see Appendix 1), one author

estimated that about 150 remained alive in 198972, and some 33

defied the odds and were still alive fifty years after their

repatriation. Hicks reflected on the positive attitude which

helped their survival in captivity, and its consequent

manifestations after the war:

The POW experience effected in the long-term a great improvement in the life-attitudes of those who survived, a greater willingness to work for the common good of the whole community, and even for the people of Ambon 73.

Sustainable Remembrance

It is a very Western attitude to erect monuments and memorials

with descriptive plaques to remember the fallen. Time is viewed

by Westerners as linear, a progression moving from past to

present and into the future. Such memorials serve to remind us

of the past, while the concept of graves and the Cross of Sacrifice

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is our insurance for the future, reflecting Christendom's belief in

resurrection. After the Great War, such memorials flourished,

and every city and country town in Australia, as throughout the

British Empire and other nations involved, had a cenotaph,

memorial gate or other monument erected to honour its

participants who fell in battle. With a high sense of patriotism,

churches and schools erected honour boards and Soldier's Chapels.

In some cases, these monuments were established as a tangible

reminder - so that future generations would look back and recall

what had transpired. At the unveiling of the State National War

Memorial on 25 April 1931, the Governor of South Australia

Brigadier General Sir Alexander Hare-Ruthven VC had observed,

It is not only for ourselves that we have erected this visible remembrance of great deeds, but rather that those who come after us ... may be inspired to devise some better means to settle international disputes other than by international slaughter 74.

These memorials all serve to commemorate and honour the losses

experienced, and are largely retrospective monuments.

Associated with them all are the classic lines which sum up our

attitude: "Lest we forget; We will remember them". Thus, Lionel

Penny noted that the increasing recognition of the Pilgrimages

and goodwill projects made him feel proud, "that the sacrifice,

and all those buried there, are not forgotten " 75.

Similarly, the entombing of an Unknown Warrior was

conducted to provide one grave to represent all of the graves of

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those who died overseas and those without known graves. Each

of the ceremonies was a precise and tasteful combination of

commemoration and history, honouring the memory of those who

lost their lives. In documenting the 1995 Pilgrimage to mark the

75th anniversary of the liberation of Villers-Bretonneux, it was

noted that the aims of the military contingent were to remember,

to pay homage and to honour the Ode's promise, 'Lest we

Forget' 76. This 'obligation to past sacrifices' serves a dual

acknowledgement: it honours those killed in battle, and it

reminds us today that they bought for us a security that they

themselves were denied. In the Ambon War Cemetery's Visitors

Book, one visitor paid homage to, "some so young plucked from

their future " 77, perhaps inadvertently recalling the words of

Rupert Brooke, who said they, "gave up the years to be ". But

one witness at the funeral of the Unknown Australian Soldier

took a cynical but revealing approach when he observed of that

day's ceremony: "We repeated our annual oaths to remember

him - and forgot him again in the morning, and at the going down

of the sun, as we had always forgotten " 78. In many ways,

remembrance has become just that - a ritual to be solemnly

observed on a particular date and overlooked thereafter.

A significant aspect of Gull Force Association's success over

the past three decades has been its pragmatic approach to

remembrance, making the act of remembrance 'sustainable'

rather than simply 'repetitive'. Private james McDougall had

returned to Ambon in 1976 and 1981; his son recalls that the

/

Closure 162

first visit was largely to honour his mates, while the second, "was

focused on how the Ambonese had helped " 79, and it is in this

that the true foundations of the Pilgrimage can be found. Gull

Force members were three times left with a distinct sense of

frustration: during their time in Darwin they sarcastically gave

themselves the title IAF ('In Australia Forever', instead of AIF,

'Australian Imperial Force'), they had to endure the frustration of

captivity, and then they had to suffer the difficulties of

repatriation in an atmosphere of denial. Through the Pilgrimage

however, they have attained a clear sense of achievement and

fulfillment. Conceived from a desire to thank the Ambonese, the

Medical Aid Programme and sponsorship scheme have given the

people of Ambon improved education, vision, primacy health care

and fresh water, which are of far greater prominence than any

elaborate monument. Gull Force today still remembers, but it

honours that memory with a practical gratitude and a foundation

for the future.

In this sense, the Gull Force Pilgrimage has taken on more

of an Indonesian (or Asian) aspect, in which 'remembrance' is

more forward looking. Time in an Asian sense is generally

cyclical, comprising both a fate or destiny (in Indonesian: nasib)

and an inevitable return. In many regional cultures, mortal life is

merely a passage to attaining release of the soul to the other

world, allowing continuation of the cycle. Indigenous Moluccans,

for example, have a belief that they have inherited from their

ancestors a concept of Mena'Muria, their existence as a nation and

preparedness for future events, like a ship fully equipped for a

Closure 163

sea journeyso. Within such a concept of time, Indonesians will

often make a Pilgrimage (Ziarah) to a gravesite or other holy

place in times of distress or uncertainty, seeking assistance from

their ancestors or an opportunity to focus on the lessons of past

events to gain strength for current or future difficulties.

The two large statues in the centre of Ambon provide such

an opportunity to reflect on the bravery of predecessors, yet

stand in stark ideological contrast. The dashing military figure of

Slamet Rijadi at the gateway of the barracks within Fort Nieuw

Victoria, shot by Ambonese RMS rebels in 1950, stands to inspire

the modern TNI forces stationed on the island, and at the same

time serves as a reminder to the indigenous Ambonese of their

failed attempt to establish Republik Maluku Selatan. Rijadi's

towering, advancing figure reminds the citizenry that any such

future rebellion will be crushed with equal determination by

government troops. By comparison, a large white statue of

Thomas Matulessy, known by the name of Pattimura, stands

almost defiantly nearby. His leadership of a party of local Alfur

head-hunters in a resistance movement against Dutch rule, for

which he was hanged on 16 December 1817, still inspires the

dream of an independent Moluccan State. The revolutionary

style statue of Pattimura, a Pahlawan Perjuangan Kemerdekaan

(patriot or hero in the struggle for independence), stands to

maintain the flickering flame of hope in the hearts of the

Ambonese. It is certainly clear that the Doolan episode had a

great impact on the local Ambonese, and from both his grave and

'The Song of Doolan' they drew strength during difficult times.

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The 1995 Pilgrimage to Villers-Bretonneux primarily paid

homage to those who lost their lives, but it also, "established

unprecedented goodwill and friendship and contributed a firm

message for future generations to pursue a future filled with

peace 81. This is one of the strongest values of a Pilgrimage, in

building links for future generations. In Gull Force's case

however, these links had been firmly established in 1942-45 and

renewed in 196 7 and subsequent years, and the modern Gull

Force Pilgrimage has perpetuated these links for future

generations. In the Gull Force Pilgrimage can be seen an

Indonesian form of 'remembrance'. It returns people from their

destiny to reflect on their origins, yet it is directed towards the

future, drawing inspiration and strength from the bravery of our

predecessors. Within this framework, their pragmatic

remembrance is more of the form, 'We will not forget them, and

we will emulate them'. So today, the veterans and families of Gull

Force honour the memory of the brave Ambonese who helped

them at great risk, emulating their assistance and sacrifice in the

form of a Medical Aid Programme.

Closure 165

Notes

1 Mrs J Mcleavy, pers comm (Ambon), 28 April 1998. 2 Mrs D Eva (daughter of Staff-Sergeant Harry Scott, executed at Laha on

20 February 1942), pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1998. 3 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 16 April 1997. 4 Mrs A Ahearn (daughter of Captain Peter Davidson, who died in the bombing

of Tan Toey Camp on 15 February 1 943), pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1998.

5 Mrs W Doolan, pers comm (Ambon), 28 April 1998. 6 Mr L J Penny, pers comm, 25 July 1996. 7 Leech (1995), pp.200-201. 8 Captain A Gabriel RFD, pers comm (Ambon), 26 April 1998. Captain Alex

Gabriel RFD, Secretary/Treasurer of Gull Force Association, and VicePresident since 1 999; visited Ambon first on HMAS Geelong in 1989, and again in 1998. Represented Gull Force Association for the 1999 Anzac Day service.

9 Tahija (1995), p.37. 10 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 8 May 1997. 11 This medal was privately struck to distinguish those who had served in a

frontline role, as compared to the many who became eligible for campaign medals and stars but had served in an administrative, logistic or 'base' role.

12 Mrs D Eva, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1998. 13 Gilbert (1993), p.7. His son was named after VX31 091 Private E J Stagg,

who died on Ambon on 16 July 1945. 14 Norman was named after Sapper Charlie Norman (died on 27 April 1945)

and Phillip was named after Sapper Douglas Phillips (1 5 June 1945), both of the 2/11 th Field Company RAE.

1 5 Rolley (1994). Max Gilbert also did so, but in an unpublished memoir (Gilbert 1993).

16 Walter George Page, served as 3470 Private Walter George Ray, 7th Battalion AIF (Dean, A & E W Gutteridge, The Seventh Battalion A/F. Resume of activities of the Seventh Battalion in the Great War - 1914-1918. W & K Purbrick Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1933, p.178; Mr W J Page, pers comm, 25 November 1996 and 29 March 1997).

1 7 The Athenians included all grieving relatives in a funeral ceremony by using empty coffins beside the filled coffins, to represent those soldiers whose bodies could not be recovered. Several monuments to the unknown dead (those whose burial was never recorded) were erected in America after the Civil War, and the remains of over 2,000 unidentified soldiers are contained in the Tomb of the Unknown Dead in Arlington, Virginia. More recently, an empty tomb was placed under the Arc de Triomphe in 1919 so the collective French war dead could be honoured during the victory march on July 14th.

1 8 It had been determined early in the war that corpses would not be repatriated.

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1 9 The bodies of the American prisoners who died on Ambon were later recovered by a US Grave Registration T earn and removed to Manila. Similarly, the remains of various American airmen killed or executed by the Japanese were identified and removed, although some were left among the unknown (Mr E W Weiss, pers comm, 18 September 1998; Weiss, 1995, p.243).

2 0 See Fitzsimmons, B (Ed), Heraldry & Regalia of War. Beekman House, New York, 1973; Inglis, K, "Entombing unknown soldiers". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 23: 4-12 (October 1993). At the suggestion of Chaplain David Railton, a body had been chosen from six unidentified corpses by a blindfolded British Army officer, and then transported to Dover and then London.

21 Fitzsimmons (1973), p.78. 22 The remains were transferred to a coffin of Tasmanian blackwood, and

successively lay in state at Villers-Bretonneux (France), at the Menin Gate at Ypres (Belgium) and then at Old Parliament House in Canberra.

23 Keating, the Hon P J, "Funeral Service of the Unknown Australian Soldier, 11 November 1993". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 24: 4 (Aprii 1994 ).

24 Londey, P. "The Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 23: 45 (October 1993).

2 5 Reid, R. "Reflections. The tomb of the unknown soldier". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 23: p.47 (October 1993).

2 6 Inglis, K, "Reflections on the Unknown Soldier: The Funeral of the Unknown Australian Soldier". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 24: p.6 (April 1994 ).

27 Keating (1994). 28 Inglis (1993), p.11. 29 Mrs J Hawken (sister of Private Neil Bromley, who was executed at Laha on

20 February 1942), pers comm, 25 October 1998. 30 Ms K Williams, pers comm, 2 July 1996. 31 Ms K Williams, pers comm, 2 August 1997. 32 Mr A Pledger, pers comm (Ambon), 28 April 1998 33 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 26 February 1998. 34 Mr G Williamson, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1998. 3 5 Gilbert (1993), p.32. 3 6 Mr E N Kelly, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 2 6 April 1998. 3 7 Squadron Leader A Knight, Memorial Service (Laha, Ambon), 24 April

1998. 38 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 26 February 1998. 3 9 Mr W C Parker (son of Private Arthur Leese Parker, executed at Laha on

20 February 1942), pers comm (Ambon), 27 April 1997. 40 Mr E W Weiss, pers comm, 14 August 1998. 41 Mr R Fiddian, pers comm (Tantui, Ambon), 25 April 1998. 42 Mr R Fiddian, pers comm (Tantui, Ambon), 25 April 1998. 43 Mrs L McCloy, pers comm (Ambon), 28 April 1998. 44 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 26 February 1998.

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45 Mrs A Ahearn, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1998. 46 Mrs A Ahearn, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1998. 4 7 Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Ambon War Cemetery Visitors

Book, entry dated 24 April 1997 (Corio, Victoria). 48 John Lahey in the ,6gr, quoted by Inglis (1994), p.6. 49 Miss M Moore, pers comm, 2 June 1996. 50 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 8 May 1997. 51 Mr W 0 Hicks, pers comm, 26 February 1998. 52 Beebe, G W, "Follow-up studies of World War II and Korean War Prisoners:

Morbidity, Disability and Maladjustments". American Journal of Epidemiology, 101 (5 ): 400-422, 1975.

53 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 26 February 1998. 54 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 26 February 1998. Mrs Anne Ahearn, daughter

of Captain Davidson, has also heard from other survivors that his favourite saying to the troops was: "You'll die by giving up hope quicker than by a bullet " (Mrs A Ahearn, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1998).

55 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 26 February 1998. 56 Gilbert (1993), p.30. 57 Mr G Williamson, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1998. 58 Squadron Leader A Knight, Anzac Day Address (Tantui, Ambon), 25 April

1998. 59 Wing, I, "Lessons from the experiences of Coalition Prisoners of War during

the Gulf War". Australian Defence Force Journal, No.128 (January/February 1998), p.52. Of 33 Coalition Service personnel captured by Iraqi forces during the Gulf War (1990-91 ), by 1998 four of them had written books based on their experiences.

60 The officers were exempt from work parties, had their own Mess, and were allowed to develop vegetable plots to supplement their rations. They were allowed by the Japanese to establish the 'Boob', a barbed-wire cage without a roof, to punish any soldier caught 'bandicooting' vegetables from their garden (Beaumont 1988, Harrison 1988, Gilbert 1993 pp.26-28). Consider also one incident by way of example, relating to VX30880 Private L H G Roy in Hainan Camp: "Tues 31st Oct 44 George Roy was handed over to the Japs by the CO for punishment. He insulted an officer. The hiding he got was something terrible. He was tied up by his thumbs and belted with a pick handle " (Robinson, QX16243 Sapper H 0, 2/11 th Field Company RAE, Diary #1, 6 March 1941 to 11 February 1945, unpublished).

61 Mr A D Mcintosh, pers comm (Kudamati, Ambon), 25 April 1997; Mr A D Mcintosh, pers comm, 12 May 1997.

62 Mr A D Mcintosh, pers comm (Kudamati, Ambon), 25 April 1997; Mr A D Mcintosh, pers comm, 12 May 1 997; Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 26 February 1998.

63 Mr L J Penny, Pers Comm, 25 July 1996. Some detail on Hainan is contained in Harrison (1988), pp. 186-259, Leech (1995), and Rolley (1994).

64 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 26 February 1998. 65 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 26 February 1998.

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66 Major I F Macrae OBE (retd), pers comm, 4 December 1996. 67 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 26 February 1998. 68 Mr L J Penny, pers comm, 23 September 1999; also Major I F Macrae OBE

retd, pers comm, 27 August 1999. 69 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 26 February 1998. 70 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 26 February 1998. 71 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 26 February 1998. 72 Beaumont (1989). 73 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 26 February 1998. 7 4 The Signal (RSL SA Branch Inc), 19 (December 1998). 7 5 Mr L J Penny, pers comm, 2 July 1996. 76 Blankfield & Corfield (1993), p.195. 7 7 Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Ambon War Cemetery Visitors

Book, entry dated 1 March 1997 (Sydney, NSW). 7 8 Throssell, R, "Reflections on the Unknown Soldier: For the Unknown

Soldier: Another Dedication". Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 24: p.8 (April 1994 ).

79 Mr R McDougall, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1998. 80 Sahaiessy, D, An Isolated War. Twofold suppression of the Moluccan right of

Independence. A Memorandum. Moluccan Peoples Mission, The Netherlands, p. 7. This motto, Mena Moeria, was used on the RMS seal, in the anthem Maluku Tanah Airku, and was incorporated into many Moluccan names such as Wattimena, Wattimura, Hatumena and Hatumuri.

81 Blankfield & Corfield (1993), p.206.


Paul A Rosenzweig

- 6 -

OUTLOOK FOR

THE FUTURE

- 6 -

OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE

6.1 Official Participation

Having some parallels with the Gull Force Pilgrimage is the annual

commemorative service held at Villers-Bretonneux in France.

After three German divisions had overwhelmed the Royal

Fusiliers, two Australian infantry brigades conducted a successful

counter-attack to recapture Villers-Bretonneux on the morning of

25 April1918. In recognition of the liberation of the town by the

Anzacs on the third anniversary of Anzac Day, the people of

Villers-Bretonneux named a number of streets and facilities after

Australian cities. One recent visitor observed: "The school there

is the Melbourne School, and they still fly the Australian flag in

the village every day " 1.

Soon after the war, the Education Department and school

children of Victoria funded the rebuilding of a school in Villers

Bretonneux. Nearby, overlooking Villers-Bretonneux and the

Somme Valley, is the Australian National Memorial to those who

died in the fighting in France and Belgium, which has been "the

site of countless pilgrimages during the seventy-five years since

1918 " z. And an alliance was officially established in 1931

between the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and the Royal Victorian

Regiment (RVR). But in the years up to the late 1970s, the

connection was becoming tenuous as new generations

Outlook for the Future 170

experienced France's fourth decade of peace. One town notary

was so concerned that the will to recognise the Australian

wartime contribution was being eroded that he wrote to the

Australian High Commissioner asking for some Australian soldiers

to rekindle the Anzac spirit. Thus began an annual pilgrimage to

Villers-Bretonneux, incorporating a commemorative service held

on April 24th3. Villers-Bretonneux was adopted in 1980 as a

Twin City by Robinvale, a post-war soldier settlement town in

Victoria, and there were ceremonies in France ( 1984) and in

Australia (1985). Robinvale's 'Villers-Bretonneux Walk' mirrors

the Rue des Australiens in France, while in Villers-Bretonneux

itself may be found Place de Robinvale. Members of the "Friends

of the 15th Brigade" association (established in 1992) planted

memorial trees at the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance and

held a 75th anniversary service, at which the French Consul

General in Melbourne, Madame Isabella Costa de Beauregard,

donated a plaque honouring the 59th Battalion AIF. Participants

in the 75th anniversary pilgrimage to Villers-Bretonneux in April

19934 found the words "Never Forget Australia. N'Oublions

jamais L'Australie "inscribed throughout the school.

Whilst a student at the Royal Military College of Science in

Shrivenham, England, Chris WrangleS met a friend who had

attended the very first Pilgrimage, who commented that, "he had

felt 'humbled' by the hospitality and gratitude expressed by the

villagers " 6. At that time, these students comprised the greatest

concentration of Australians in Europe and were the co-ordinators

Outlook for the Future 1 71

of the event, with one of the staff, a Lieutenant Colonel, the

highest rank represented. Wrangle recalled the 1990 Pilgrimage:

The Pilgrimage I attended in 1990 was vezy, vezy much a village affair, and the services and ceremonies that were conducted were vezy solemn but informal. We were treated almost as 'house-guests': the lunches were prepared by the villagers in their houses, and the women were running the hot dishes into a hall where we all sat down, and we all sat next to the locals. Before we could eat, we had to sing 'Waltzing Matilda' for our supper, we had a good chat with all of the local villagers, and it was vezy much a personal, intimate occasion 7.

Later returning to Shrivenham as an instructor, Wrangle

observed that the pilgrimage had grown considerably in status:

"There had certainly been Ambassadorial involvement on a

number of occasions. A French military band had replaced the

local village band and I felt that part of the occasion had been

lost " s. He felt that the personal relationship between the

veterans and the townspeople had been lost:

The value of the occasion when I first visited, was vezy much the relationship between the soldiers serving today, the veterans who were there, and the village people. In 199 7, it appeared to have grown to such an extent that it was almost a burden. The little hall we'd sat and ate in before was no longer big enough, there were people overflowing, the meals were now being catered for out of tinfoil hotboxes, we stood and paid for a meal ticket in a queue - and when we sat, it was difficult to talk to people because we were all squashed in like sardines and it was vezy noisy. I must make it clear that the people were still overwhelmingly


hospitable7 but the intimacy I remembered from my first visit appeared to have diminished 9.

Attending the 1998 Gull Force Pilgrimage to Ambon, Wrangle

recognised the same personal aspect he had experienced at

Villers-Brettoneaux, and the informal reunion lunch at the

Ambon War Cemetery was strongly reminiscent of the early

Villers-Brettoneaux luncheons. Wrangle identified that both

Pilgrimages very much have the focus on the Anzac spirit and the

special relationship between the servicemen and the people.

During the 1978 Pilgrimage, Bill Jinkins had secured a

commitment from the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia for

the future conduct of the Anzac Day service on Ambon, and he

also obtained the approval-in-principal of the Minister for

Defence for continued Service representation at future

ceremonies. For several years now the ADF has assisted the

Pilgrimage, with co-ordination and support being provided by

Headquarters NORCOM in Darwin. This has included the uplift of

humanitarian aid stores (books and medical supplies) and the

transfer of participants to Darwin, and the transport of stores and

participants to Ambon by sea (RAN Fremantle-Class Patrol Boats)

and by air (RAAF CC-08 Caribou or C-130 Hercules). NORCOM

staff have co-ordinated and supported the ceremonial and official

activities in Ambon coinciding with Anzac Day, and have provided

a Tri-Service catafalque party and Guard.

As the Villers-Brettoneaux ceremony had grown in status

and Service participation grew, Wrangle observed that the

Outlook for tbe Future 173

personal nature of the event was being eroded: "The publicity

and the growth of it has had an upside ... But the interaction

opportunities between the people, the children, have

disappeared " 10. And this is what makes such a visit a

Pilgrimage - the personal, almost spiritual relationship between

the veterans and their families and the families of the local

townspeople. In 1997, for example, Walter Hicks and his party

visited the local school in Leahari, a village on the route of the

horrific 'Long Carry', where they were entertained by children

who sang and played bamboo flutes. Hicks later recalled:

I had tears in my eyes and a great lump in my throat, as I remembered the singing and bright faces of the children of 'Long Cany' days, and their little packets of food left beside the trail on the way back to Batugong ... It almost seemed as if some part of me had stayed there, and I had found it again 11.

With the increasing significance of such return visits, and the

increasing participation by families and dignitaries, there are

many associated risks. By the time of the 1999 Pilgrimage to

Gallipoli, it was acknowledged that considerable damage was

being done to the graves and gardens at Anzac Cove by the 8,000

or more participants, so a new venue and format for the Anzac

Dawn Service was proposed. Similarly, as the Villers-Brettoneaux

Pilgrimage had grown in stature, there were less opportunities for

personal interactions, as Wrangle compared the change he

observed from one visit to another:


On the first march7 the first time we went there7 we marched from the village where we had an afternoon tea7 then waited until sundown when all the soldiers formed up to march with some of the veterans. When we moved off, the village children marched beside us holding candles. We marched to the local memorial where there was a service just on dusk and7 as you can imagine, it was ve.ry7 ve.ry moving. In 199 7, some of the intimacy was lost because so many more people were involved 12,

There is no doubt among veterans and families that the strength

of the Gull Force Pilgrimage has been achieved in recent years

through the unwavering determination and vision of one man, the

Pilgrimage Co-ordinator Lieutenant Colonel Rod Gabriel MBE ED

(retd)13, An annual event since 1978, the Pilgrimages were co

ordinated by Gabriel from 1980 onwards and in 1997, at the age

of 82, he celebrated his silver jubilee - his 25th return visit to

Ambon14. The 1997 Pilgrimage was also his 20th consecutive

Anzac Day on Ambon; the 1998 Pilgrimage was his last however

- he passed away in his sleep on the eve of the 1999 Shrine

Pilgrimage, Saturday 6 February.

As the Gull Force Pilgrimage has grown, so too in recent

years it has increasingly attracted a host of official participants,

including the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, the Northern

Territory Administrator, the Lord Mayor of Darwin, NT

Government Ministers or MLAs, members of No.13 (City of

Darwin) Squadron and cadets of 70 Regional Cadet Unit. The

Indonesian Armed Forces are generally represented by the local


commander of KOREM 174 (a component of KODAM

VIII/Trikora), and a guard is generally provided by local sailors

and police, or soldiers of the 733rd (Airborne) Infantry Battalion

based within Fort Nieuw Victoria. While this official government,

diplomatic and Service support and representation is greatly

appreciated in facilitating the Pilgrimage, it should not come to

dominate it as may be occurring in France. Gabriel was an ardent

campaigner to maintain the personal nature of the Gull Force

Pilgrimage, the direct person-to-person bonds of friendship and

loyalty, and not allow it to become 'just another Anzac Day

service'. This approach caused some angst among veterans who

were not directly affiliated with Gull Force, including 13 Squadron

and 33rd Brigade survivors, and wives and daughters, who were

unable to participate in the 'official' Gull Force Pilgrimage.

While the ADF's commitment to the Ambon Pilgrimage

presented it with another opportunity to maintain a steadily

developing military relationship across a diverse archipelago, this

should not become the sole aim of the Pilgrimage. Symbolic of

the torch being passed to the next generation, in 1996 John

Macrae took a break from working 9,000 drought-stricken acres

in Queensland to make his first Pilgrimage as his father made his

fourth. His plea was simple, perhaps recognising the potential for

an escalation in official representation as has happened in Villers

Brettoneaux - that the Pilgrimages should continue in an

appropriate manner:


As the Gull Force veterans fade away the Defence and Foreign Mfairs Departments should encourage and facilitate Anzac Day pilgrimages by relatives of those with wartime links with Ambon. Clearly, the Gull Force Association has an empathy with these friendly people which I hope will not be swamped by the Australian government's desire to foster relationships with the central government in jakarta 1s.

6.2 Prospects for Reconciliation

In addition to the Gull Force Pilgrimages each year, a further

significant group of visitors has made their way at various times

to Ambon. In 1997, for example, that year's travel party very

nearly came to Ambon at the same time as the Gull Force

Association group but the tour leader wisely deferred the trip

until the third week of june. The group was led by Yoshiro

Ninomiya from Tokyo, a veteran of the Imperial japanese Navy,

who has for many years been General Secretary of the Ambon

Society in Japan - Ambon Kai, comprising veterans who served on

Ambon. A Sub-Lieutenant of the First Class who was sent to

Ambon in August 1944, Ninomiya was one of many who had

served on Ambon during the war- but not as a camp guard. He

had been an Interpreter and Civil Affairs officer at the Japanese

Headquarters in Fort Nieuw Victoria, being fluent in Japanese,

English and Melayu-Ambon, and then after the liberation of the

prisoners was held on Ambon until june 1946 .• He was one of

many who had done his duty to his Emperor, and worked at the


Hombu (Headquarters) during the Japanese occupation of Ambon

- with no actual association or involvement with the prisoners at

Tan Toey.

Some similar activities by japanese organisations had

earlier taken place. Prominent among them was a 'Journey of

Reconciliation' to Australia by Japanese war widows and former

soldiers in 1980, escorted by Father Paul Glynn SM of the Marist

Fathers. His brother, Father Tony Glynn SM, had been honoured

with the Order of the British Empire, Order of Australia and Order

of the Rising Sun for his services towards reconciliation in Nara,

Japan from 1952 until his death in 1994. Most notably, he led

pilgrimages of Buddhist priests, city officials and citizens from

Nara to the graves of Australian and Japanese war dead in New

Guinea, Darwin and Cowra. Both Paul and Tony Glynn belonged to

the Marist Mission of Reconciliation in Nara which had been

established by Father Lionel Marsden SM (1911-1971), a former

Army padre in the 8th Division and himself a POW on the Burma-

Siam Railway16. But it was at the release of the movie Blood Oath

in Tokyo that Ninomiya recognised that organisations such as

Ambon Kai had a responsibility for fostering goodwill and peace

through education. His message was simple:

I wish to apologise for the mistake japan has caused in the past, and we should not repeat the same mistake, and hope that the relationship between our two countries will become closer 17.

In one sense, it is easy to understand why nearly five decades

/


passed by before a Japanese veterans group was able to come to

Ambon. Japan had not only suffered defeat in their Pacific War,

but also the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and during

the post-war era japan as a nation was uncertain how to refer to

the war and redevelop a society without its traditional military

heritage.

Although the japanese campaign to establish a Greater East

Asia Co-prosperity Sphere - and in so doing 'liberate' the various

enslaved peoples of Southeast Asia- clearly ended in 1945, the

status of the Netherlands East Indies remained in doubt. After

the formal establishment of Indonesia, the State of War with

Japan which had been inherited from the NEI was formally ended

with a Peace Treaty signed by Foreign Ministers Dr Soebandrio

and Aichiro Fujiyama in Jakarta on 20 January 1958, and ratified

by Law No.13 of 1958. This treaty included provision for

substantial loans and over $US 220 million in reparations to be

paid over the course of twelve years18, As the wartime brutality

of the Japanese was being replaced by investment and industrial

development, there was an influx of japanese investment and the

growth of fishery and building companies. Abraham 'Bram' de

Lima 19, director of a cargo and shipping company, was one local

businessman who supported and assisted such ventures. His

assistance was formalised ·with an appointment as Honorary

Consul for japan, at which time he was an Assistant Governor,

advising Governor Soemitro on economic matters. After his death

in 1981, his widow Margarethe received on his behalf the


japanese decoration Bin tang ]asa Matahari Terbit Kelas N (Order

of the Rising Sun, 4th Class) in recognition of Bram de Lima's

services as Honorary Consul during a significant period of

japanese investment and development.

Despite a prospering post-war economy, the japanese have

experienced difficulty in finding an appropriate way to remember

or even recognise what we call World War zzo. Since the war,

'remembering' has more often than not involved external calls for

apologies, reparations and compensation. Internally, there was

no public opposition to the war and afterwards, no personal

blame attributed to the Emperor, who was granted immunity

from prosecution. Many of the modem generation simply do not

believe there was a war, because it is not discussed in school - the

Ministry of Education has sanitised Japanese history by censoring

textbooks and deleting material relating to japan's participation

in the war. At the same time, senior businessmen have scoured

Australia buying up swords and occupation banknotes to destroy

them and remove them from the public arena. And because of

the way the war ended in japan itself, the belief among many has

persisted that they were in fact the victims21.

In Japan today, the only days of remembrance or

commemoration are August 6th (Remembrance of Hiroshima

Atomic Bomb Day) and August 9th {Remembrance of Nagasaki

Atomic Bomb Day). On both days there are solemn ceremonies,

and families, friends and officials come from all over the world to


participate: around the time of the bomb explosion people stand

up and have one minute's silence, even in the middle of a

baseball game or Sumo wrestling. These are followed by

'Remembrance of Ending War' Day on August 15th, and again

there are official government ceremonies and some Shinto shrines

have ceremonies. There is no memorial day specifically for the

war dead in Japan; in fact, japan is markedly devoid of any type

of military holiday. There is however, a 'Festival of the Dead'

called 0-Bon in August where Japanese typically make a

pilgrimage to their family burial site. Similarly, japanese soldiers

do not have monuments or graves in official War Cemeteries,

although the Yasukuni ]inja stands as a shrine to the collective

Japanese war dead22. There are some local people who are

buried in graves, but these are not soldiers; for example, there is

cemetery for young Japanese girls, mostly aged 12 to 16, who had

been forced to join the war in Okinawa. Similarly, there are

several individual monuments, such as the granite monument

erected in what had been the playground of Yamazato Primary

School in Nagasaki, where 900 of the school's 1,100 students died

in the bomb blast23.

After the war, there were no protocols for the removal of

bodies back to Japan; most soldiers who died were buried where

they fell or if possible, the remains were cremated in accordance

with Shinto and Buddhist tradition. In some cases, the ashes of

bodies were returned in a cinerary urn to the soldier's family in

Japan. If time permitted, select pieces of the remains (certain

/


bones and sections of the cranium) were polished after cremation

and placed in an urn, which was then placed in a family burial

crypt with the remains of the rest of the family. For the

remembrance of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there are peace

monuments and public sepulchres in the form of stone tombs on

which are engraved the names of those who died, but there is no

equivalent to the Cross of Sacrifice used in Western forms of

remembrance, which is largely a Christian symbol relating to the

promised resurrection. The post-war japanese Government took

the stance that it could not officially condone any form of

commemoration of bodies lying in war graves or the erection of

any form of war memorial: such actions would be seen as the

current government justifying the wartime military government

and War itself.

After the end of the Cold War, coincidentally only perhaps,

in 1993 the long-ruling Liberal-Democratic Party was removed

from power, after 38 years of strenuously insisting that all war

issues had been settled. Immediately after Hosokawa Morihiro

was appointed Prime Minister, he expressed his feelings of deep

regret over japan's aggression. This statement marked the

beginning of some public acknowledgement of the war. This new

openness allowed many to begin asking questions which had been

suppressed, while many veterans found an environment which

allowed them to openly recognise their wartime service. just at

the dawn of this new openness, one of Yoshiro Ninomiya's

interesting responsibilities as General Secretary of Ambon Kai

was to arrange for the Society to co-sponsor the release of Blood

/

Outlook for the Future 1 8 2

Oath under Japanese sub-title in April 1991. Having already

participated in a Pilgrimage to Ambon in 1989, for the first time

since the War Crimes Trials, retired judge john Williams was one

of the invited guests at this release. Another of the special guests

was retired Military Policeman Don Ball from Murwillumbah,

NSW24. At the launch of the movie, Ninomiya emphasised his

support for the release of the film as a means of fostering

goodwill between the two countries. This may seem a little

incongruous but, seeing himself as one who had experienced the

war, he saw a need for the new generation to understand what

had occurred so that they might become "the bridge between

Australia and japan " 2s.

To Ninomiya, the film was an opportunity for young

japanese people to understand the atmosphere of peace which

they enjoyed in Japan today, and especially to appreciate how it

had come about that Japan was now a peaceful nation.

Furthermore, he acknowledged "how difficult it is to hand down

fairly and truthfully " the experiences and lessons learnt from

the war, and hoped it would prompt young Japanese people

collectively and individually to ponder how this peace could be

maintained into future generations26. His observation on being

fair and truthful was a struggle faced in the War Crimes Trials,

when many Japanese were removed from Ambon to suffer the

shame of a trial. Of about 110 officers and men from the

20th Garrison Unit (Marines) arrested and held in Benteng

barracks, a total of 93 were brought to account for their crimes,


charged with various offences relating to the ill-treatment of

Australian and Allied prisoners. More specific charges were laid

against individuals as further evidence became available.

Difficulties were experienced however, through the lack of

witnesses because all of the Australians had expeditiously been

repatriated (although three later returned with the occupation

force), but exhaustive investigations saw much evidence

presented and identifications made. There was also a significant

'conspiracy of silence' amongst the accused, until signed

statements were given27.

The Australian Court imposed sentences from two to twenty

years on a total of 39 Japanese, many bearing nicknames such as

'Frog Voice', 'Muttering Mick' and 'Horse Face' given them by the

Australian prisoners28, while some could not be brought to

account for their deeds because they had died29. Those who paid

the ultimate price for their actions were Naval Captain Shirozu

Wadami (commander of the 20th Garrison Unit from November

1943), Lieutenant Miyazaki Yoshio (Tan Toey camp commander)

and Sub-Lieutenant Shimakawa Masaichi (commander of the

camp guard at Tan Toey) who were executed by firing squad at

Rabaul, New Britain on 25 September 1947. Uemura, a

commissioned Warrant Officer entitled to the dress and privileges

of a naval officer, had been the appointed commander of the Tan

Toey garrison (Lieutenant Miyazaki was rarely actually seen by

the Australians) -he was arrested in Japan as a civilian, and was

tried on Morotai and executed. Ikeuchi Masakiyo ('Ee-Kay'), a


civilian interpreter on the staff of Rear-Admiral Hatakeyama ;;md

particularly hated by the Australians for his sadism and ill

treatment of the prisoners, was also sentenced to death by firing

squad. He and Lieutenant Hideo Katayama were also executed at

Rabaul on 25 September 1947.

Don Ball had been the Sergeant in charge of the 8th Military

District Military Police Detachment and Permanent Court Orderly

for the War Trials Tribunal on Rabaul. Having served at the end

of the war with the New Guinea Force Provost Company and then /

the 2nd Australian Division Military Police, he described himself

during this time as a "21 year old Christian who has never been

in the front line " 30. Once the criminals had been tried and

sentenced on Ambon, they were held on Rabaul for execution,

New Guinea being Australia's 8th Military District. One of Ball's

less savoury tasks was the preparation and transport of the

condemned, and there were some 60 japanese war criminals

executed on Rabaul. On 1 7 October 194 7, Don Ball celebrated his

21st birthday and then eight days later took Lieutenant Hideo

Katayama, the Signals Officer of the 20th Garrison Unit, to his

execution. As Don Ball fitted the blindfold, for the last execution

conducted by the Australians before the Military Police

Detachment returned to Australia in November, Katayama began

to recite the Lord's Prayer in English. Ball stood with him and

continued the prayer, then stood aside to allow the Australian

firing squad to complete their duty. Katayama had not wanted

the blindfold but Ball insisted:


We spoke little until I began to place the blindfold on him. He said in a calm voice that he wanted to die without being blindfolded. I felt deeply for those of the firing squad who would see his face so I insisted that I canyon 31.

While it might not be possible to condone any of their actions, it

should also be recalled that the Japanese themselves were

required to suffer some of the same hardships as the Australians,

although certainly not on the same scale. An American prisoner

at Tan Toey, Sergeant Ed Weiss, at one stage traded a gold

friendship ring he had received from a former girlfriend before

his departure for the Philippines. In exchange for the ring, he

obtained food from Petty Officer (2nd Class) Tanaka Shoichi, who

was aged about 21. Towards the end of the war, food became

scarce even for the guards and many of them traded items of

value with the local Ambonese. Tanaka Shoichi had done this to

survive, only to face a trial and a sentence of two years

imprisonment. In more recent years, Ed Weiss contacted an

American friend living in Japan who was friendly with Yoshiro

Ninomiya, and through him managed to locate Tanaka to seek a

return of the ring. Tanaka did not have the ring - he himself had

been forced to trade the ring with Milly Sijauta (Tikus Kecil), the

operator of the Tan Toey market, in order to obtain food32.

It is important to acknowledge that the Ambon War Crimes

Trials held on Ambon and on Morotai after the war were held as

a properly constituted military court, with Mr justice Mansfield

as Principal of the Court and Captain john Williams as the Chief

/


Prosecuting Officer. There were certainly executions but there

were also, where necessary, acquittals. At the conclusion of

proceedings, Mr justice Mansfield could proudly and rightly

proclaim, 'justice has been done'. Reflecting on these times,

Australian veteran Walter Hicks considers it important to point

out that the most horrific exploits did not reflect on all of the

japanese guards, or indeed, all of the japanese on duty on Ambon

during the war:

The bad guards got all the publicity in post-war years, and the good and kind guards, and their actions, were conveniently forgotten ... As Shakespeare put it so truly [in 'Julius Caesar'],

'The evil that men do lives after them, The good is often interr'd with their bones ' 33

Ed Weiss noted that on Christmas Day 1942, for example, there

were no work parties, the Australian padre was given permission

to conduct a service and the japanese issued packets of cigarettes

to the prisoners34. On Ambon in 1998, Walter Hicks observed of

the guards: "One of them I considered my friend. He was a

gentle fellow, he didn't like the war. A lot of them didn't ".

But he also quickly acknowledged, "Others I hated with a

blind, unreasoning hate. But it's dishonest to say they were all

bad " 35. Gull Force survivors are still adamant that they can

never forget the horrific brutality and inhumanity of the

japanese guards, although sometimes they acknowledge that

forgiveness may be possible. Pilgrimage Co-ordinator Rod Gabriel

did not soften in his attitude over the years: as he explained in a


radio interview a few years ago, he saw himself as a person of

compassion and saw no place for retribution, but forgiveness

could only follow some sincere expression of apology. If that was

forthcoming, he reflected during one of his recent Pilgrimages, "it

would be accepted, and we could consider forgiving, but we

would never forget " 36. . In Darwin the previous year, before

departing for Ambon, he said,

To forget is not possible, but to forgive is possible if the japanese Government and Emperor are able to make a full unqualified apology for japanese atrocities in World War 11 37.

American survivor Ed Weiss notes that after the war he simply

denied the existence of the Japanese; it was only many years

later as he was revising the manuscript that the images of the

japanese guards came back into being: "My hatred has given way

to anger and bitterness. That I still retain, nor am I ready to

forgive " 38. George Williamson, who has a permanently

damaged ankle from a beating he received, recalls that after the

war he certainly did harbour a resentment against the Japanese,

but "not against Ambon, otherwise I wouldn't be back here see,

and it's as simple as that " 39. Lionel 'Popeye' Penny is equally

adamant: "I cannot forget nor can I forgive the japanese of that

generation who committed those atrocities " 40. In recalling the

particular fate of the members of Gull Force, Penny states quite

emphatically:

/


A mere 300 survived of this 796 [in POW Camps] - 496 died as POWs. Is it any wonder that my memozy does not fade? Nor my heart soften towards those who were responsible for such huge needless losses, and especially the way it was done? 41.

Lionel Penny qualified his inability to forgive or forget by

reference to the generation of Japanese which had inflicted such

brutality throughout Southeast Asia, and was equally quick to

concede that, "we cannot blame the sons for the sins of their

fathers " 42, And it should not be thought that only the families

of the Australians who died suffered trauma after the war.

Ikeuchi Masakiyo paid the ultimate price for his cruelty, but he

left a grieving widow Koto, and a young daughter Harumi43, /

neither of whom can be apportioned any blame for his actions. It ,"

was attitudes such as Lionel Penny's that Yoshiro Ninomiya hoped

to capitalise on when he expressed his support for the release of

Blood Oath, hoping to foster goodwill and understanding in a new

generation of Japanese which had previously been sheltered from

such shocking revelations. On the advice of friends, Ikeuchi's

daughter Harumi did not view the movie; she was then aged in

her 50s and only had memories of her father as a 2 or 3 year old

when in December 1941, at the age of 48, he had joined the

japanese Imperial Navy as a civilian. The embellished portrayal

of Ikeuchi in the movie would simply have been too distressing

for her. But now, through the friendship of Yoshiro Ninomiya and

members of Ambon Kai, Harumi Ikeuchi has been able to learn

something of Ambon and what transpired there.


Like Ninomiya, many members of Ambon Kai questioned

why Ikeuchi was the only Japanese identified by their real name,

and why it was Ikeuchi that was chosen to be the focus of the

film. Ed Weiss feels that this was largely because it was Ikeuchi.

that the Australians had the most contact with, because he spoke

English and the vast majority of the guards and hierarchy did not.

Therefore, it was Ikeuchi Masakiyo who largely bore the brunt of

the Australians' hatred. Yoshiro Ninomiya, on the other hand,

considered that the brutality of Ikeuchi and some of the others

originated amongst the Japanese officers, and Ikeuchi was merely

their agent44. After the release of Blood Oath, Harumi Ikeuchi

had the opportunity to learn more about her father from many of

the men that knew him on Ambon. Although many of his actions

could not be denied, they related that he had also shown

compassion in attempting to obtain additional food and medicine

for the Australians, only to be accused of disloyalty by the

japanese officers. A letter from Harumi to Ed Weiss in 1994,

reflecting on such activities by her father, awakened fifty years

of dormant memory in Weiss, as he noted in his book, Under the

Rising Sun. Weiss recalled that Ikeuchi had smuggled ether from

the Japanese hospital to allow the Dutch doctor to amputate the

leg of an Australian prisoner. A bad tropical ulcer had left the

flesh on Sergeant 'Mallee' jack O'Brien's leg putrefying, and the

shin bone exposed, and his survival relied solely on the skill of

Dr Ehlhart and the anaesthetic covertly provided by Ikeuchi4S.

Weiss did not change any details regarding Ikeuchi in the

/


1995 revision of his book, but is now considering a sequel to

Under the Rising Sun to more accurately portray Ikeuchi's

behaviour on Ambon46. While much of it cannot be excused,

there was also much that was unseen by the Australians, and his

representations on behalf of the prisoners and secret efforts to

assist them should not go unrecognised. Using the barrier of

language to distance themselves from direct hostility and blame,

the japanese hierarchy on Ambon offered Ikeuchi Masakiyo to

the Australians as a scapegoat, and this was seized upon by the

makers of Blood Oath.

To publicly acknowledge their involvement in the region,

Ninomiya led a group of fellow veterans back to Ambon in 1994,

and each year since groups of veterans have returned to conduct

ceremonies with their friends and relatives. In July 1995,

Ninomiya and fellow Ambon-Kai veterans established the

'Beringin' Memorial among the villages near Laha, close to the

modern airport. This tree and garden was established to

commemorate the duty of the japanese during their occupation of

Ambon. Two small marble columns bear the names of the

Pilgrimage participants - veterans and family members of those

who died - together with traditional japanese haiku verses47.

There is also one dedication to the fallen by Tadayoshi Sato:

"Where are you reincarnated now?".

With an Australian Pilgrimage to Ambon now well

established, and a Japanese veterans' group attempting to do the


same, it is tempting to think that some honour might be found in

the service of both parties. While not condoning the brutality and

horror experienced in Tan Toey, which may never be forgiven,

the guards and non-combatants alike of 'Victoria Barracks' shared

with the men of Gull Force the fate of being puppets of their

respective governments. Many have since suffered for their

actions, with punishments no court could impose. Matsuda

Masao, known to the Australians as 'the Gray Mare', was

sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for his role in conducting

executions on Ambon, including three American pilots. In 1991

the following recollection was published in the Chicago Tribune:

As my sword passed through the neck of one pilot, photographs of the man's mother, his wife and a baby fell out of his shirt pocket and lay on the ground staring up at me. I am still haunted by that scene today 48.

In Australia today, many RSL branches have made confiscated

samurai swords available for inspection and identification by the

families of Japanese veterans. One such sword was presented to

Kayano Tsutsui (daughter of Takashi Nagai, a veteran of the War

with China) as a sign of reconciliation on 8 August 1992 during a

service at Cowra, which is now known in japan as Australia's City

of Reconciliation49. Together with his japanese wife, an

Australian Army soldier recently located the family of Major

Takao Kobayashi and presented his surrendered sword to two of

his sons in Townsville on 4 February 1999so. Like many, the

widow of Ikeuchi Masakiyo found solace in ChristianitySl; so too,

Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, who had led the air attack on Darwin


on 19 February 1942, became a Christian evangelist52. At

Harumi's request, a service for Ikeuchi Masakiyo and his widow

Koto was conducted at St Mary's Cathedral and Villa Maria in

Hunters Hill, Sydney on August 1st 199853. It was conducted by

Father Paul Glynn of the Marist Fathers, who had been a

missionary in Japan for many years and has written several

books about the impact of Christianity on the post -war Japanese.

Walter Hicks, who travelled up to Sydney to meet with Harumi

and her husband Yisaku, later observed the value of this service:

"For her, much of the sadness of past years has been ameliorated,

and the 1demons' have been exorcised from her mind, so she can

let the matter rest at last " 54.

Former Military Policeman Don Ball has the hope that the

symbolism of a New Year followed by a combined Pilgrimage to

Ambon could "bring about a 'reconciliation' between Gull Force

veterans and their japanese counterpart " ss. In saying this, he

draws upon a vision enounced in a statement made by Yoshiro

Ninomiya at a press conference given in Tokyo in April 1991,

"That Australian veterans of Ambon together with their japanese

counterpart would one day meet together on a journey of

reconciliation at Ambon " 56. Given the psychological processes

the Gull Force Pilgrimage has served Australian veterans and

their families over the last three decades, it is interesting to

consider whether such a combined Pilgrimage to Ambon could

one day effect some form of reconciliation between Gull Force and

Japanese veterans, or between their families, although as with


any attempt at reconciliation, there is always the risk of failures?.

In common with fellow veterans however, Don Ball has noted that

there are few remaining opportunities for such ~ reconciliation to

occur - "time is catching up with us " ss.


Notes

1 Lieutenant Colonel C G Wrangle, pers comm (Ambon), 27 April 1998. 2 Blankfield & Corfield (1993). 3 It is held on 24 April because the French hold their World War 2

commemorative service on the 25th. 4 See Blankfield & Corfield (1993). This party comprised two First World

War veterans, members of the Royal Victorian Regiment and various family members.

5 Lieutenant Colonel C G Wrangle, Commanding Officer of the 1 st Combat Service Support Battalion in Darwin. In 1998, he participated in his fourth Pilgrimage - he represented the Australian Defence Force on Ambon, while he had previously participated in the Villers-Bretonneux Pilgrimage in 1990, 1996 and 1 997.

6 Lieutenant Colonel C G Wrangle, pers comm (Ambon), 27 April 1998 7 Lieutenant Colonel C G Wrangle, pers comm (Ambon), 27 April 1998, and

pers comm, 1 November 1998. 8 Lieutenant Colonel C G Wrangle, pers comm (Ambon), 27 April 1998, and

pers comm, 1 November 1998. 9 Lieutenant Colonel C G Wrangle, pers comm (Ambon), 27 April 1998, and

pers comm, 1 November 1998. 1 0 Lieutenant Colonel C G Wrangle, pers comm (Ambon), 27 April 1998. 11 Mr W J Hicks, pers comm, 1 0 June 1997. 1 2 Lieutenant Colonel C G Wrangle, pers comm (Ambon), 27 April 1998, and

pers comm, 1 November 1998. 1 3 Born on 19 October 1914, Rodney Charles Gabriel was commissioned in the

Melbourne University Regiment, served with the 6th Infantry Battalion (The Royal Melbourne Regiment) during the 1930s and as a Captain served in the 2/21 st Battalion's Intelligence Cell; Lieutenant Colonel R C Gabriel MBE ED (retd), pers comm (various), (Ambon) 4-26 April 1993, (Ambon) 24-30 Apri! 1996; (Ambon) 24-28 April 1997; (Ambon) 24-28 April 1999; Mr W J Page, pers comm, 22 February 1999; Royal United Services Institute of Victoria Newsletter, November 1998, Herald Sun obituary notices (various).

14 His first return visit to Ambon was in 1976, and he participated in every pilgrimage from 1978, plus four visits with relatives and friends, and one with a medical aid planning project.

1 5 Mr J Macrae, pers comm, 1 June 1996. 16 Glynn, P, A Song for Nagasaki. Marist Fathers Books, Hunters Hill, NSW,

1988 (1995 Reconciliation Edition). 1 7 Mr P Ninomiya, Letter to Mr D Ball dated 5 April 1991; Mr D Ball, pers

comm, 13 July 1997. 1 8 Only three other countries made formal reparations agreements with Japan:

Burma (in 1954), the Philippines (1956) and South Vietnam (1960). 1 9 Mrs M de Lima, pers comm, 1 May 1996; de Lima family personal papers. 20 See McCormack, G, "Remembering and Forgetting: the War, 1945-1995".

Journal of the Australian War Memorial, 2 7: 5-15 (October 199 5 ).


21 McCormack (1995), p.7. 2 2 Lieutenant J Davis USN, Deputy Public Affairs Officer, US Seventh Fleet,

pers comm, 28 September 1 998; Mr E W Weiss, pers comm, 6 October 1 998; Mr M Aso, pers comm, 6 October 1 998; Harrison (1 966).

23 Glynn (1988), p.137. 2 4 Mr D Ball, Letter dated 1 5 December 1 991 . 1 3 Squadron Newsletter, No.3 1

(February 1 992), p.33. 2 5 Mr P Ninomiya, Letter to Mr D Ball dated 5 April 1 991 ; Mr D Ball, pers

comm, 13 July 1997. 2 6 Mr P Ninomiya, Letter to Mr D Ball dated 5 April 1991 . 2 7 Statements were given by Commander Kunito Hatakeyama, Lieutenant

Commander Kenichi Nakagawa, and Warrant Officers Hamanishi Shigeo and Takada Harue of the 1st Kure Special Naval Landing Force. lkeuchi Masakiyo did not offer any recollections on the circumstances at Laha, to which he was a witness if not actually a participant, until ordered directly to do so by a Japanese Admiral.

2 8 Of particular interest is Lieutenant Commander Nakamura Ryosuke, the Senior Surgeon, who was sentenced to 1 8 months imprisonment for conducting medical experiments on the prisoners.

2 9 Rear-Admiral Hatakeyama, commander of the 1st Kure Special Naval Landing Force, who had ordered the executions at Laha as reprisals for the sinking of a Japanese minesweeper, died in an aircraft accident in South China. Marines Captain Ando Noburo ('Handlebars'), commander of the garrison force until November 1943, committed suicide with a drink laced with potassium cyanide, in Surabaya Harbour on 15 September 1945.

3 0 Mr D Ball, Letter to the Editor dated 1 8 December 1 991 . 1 3 Squadron Newsletter, No.31 (February 1 992}, p.30.

31 Mr D Ball, Letter to the Editor dated 1 8 December 1 991 . 1 3 Squadron Newsletter, No.3 1 (February 1 992), p.30.

32 Mr W J Hicks, pers comm, 29 May 1 997; Weiss (1 995), p.271 -272. 33 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 22 October 1996. 34 Weiss (1 995), p. 176. 35 Mr W D Hicks, quoted in Army Magazine, No.36 (September 1 998), p.30. 3 6 Lieutenant Colonel R C Gabriel MBE ED (retd), pers comm (Ambon),

28 April 1 996. 37 Northern Territory News, 24 April 1995. 38 Weiss (1 995), p.252. 39 Mr G Williamson, pers comm (Latuhalat, Ambon), 26 April 1998. 40 Penny, L J, "A Tale of Horror and Despair". Unpublished notes, 1985. 41 Penny (unpublished notes, 1 985). 42 Penny (unpublished notes, 1 985). 43 Weiss (1 995), p.272-273; Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 1 1 January 1999. 44 Weiss (1 995), p.272. 45 Weiss (1 995), pp.273-274. This story however, is not known amongst the

Australian survivors, and is disputed by some.


46 Mr E W Weiss, pers comm, 18 September 1998. Under the Rising Sun was first published in the USA in 1992, based on an unpublished manuscript prepared in 1946 by Ed Weiss and Clyde Rearick, "Life as a Prisoner of War under the Japanese".

47 These haiku verses are poems of 17 syllables, with a 5-7-5 structure. The verses used on Ambon include, "A morning dew shines on the lotus flower at daybreak" and "Faint starlight of Southern Cross in the cloudy south sky".

48 Chicago Tribune, 1991; quoted on the back cover of Weiss (1995). 49 Glynn (1988). 50 Army, 18 February 1999, p.7. 51 Weiss (1995), 1995, p.273. 52 Lockwood, D, Australia's Pearl Harbour. New Edition. Rigby, Adelaide,

1984, pp.206-212. 53 Weiss (1995), p.272-273; Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 11 January,

26 February 1999; Father Paul Glynn SM, pers comm, 17 February, 9 March 1999.

54 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 11 January 1999. 55 Mr D A Ball, pers comm, 18 January 1998. 56 Mr D A Ball, letter dated 11 January 1998. 57 An example is the Jakarta-endorsed attempt to effect some form of

reconciliation between Moslem and Christian Ambonese on Ambon on Pattimura Day, 15 May 1999, after several months of communal violence and unrest. The format of the traditional torch relay from Saparua was modified to emphasise traditional historical links in an effort to satisfy all parties. These efforts were not enough however, to overcome the simmering feud amongst the residents of Batumerah and Mardika (where the violence had first erupted on January 19th), and further violent clashes occurred leaving 7 people killed and some 1 5 wounded after ABRI forces opened fire (Chauvel, Dr R, "Ambon's second tragedy: History, Ethnicity and Religion". Presentation to the 5th International Maluku Research Conference, Darwin, 14 July 1999).

58 Mr D A Ball, pers comm, 18 January 1998.


Paul A Rosenzweig

- 7 -

CONCLUSION

- 7 -

CONCLUSION

Standing before the Ambon Cross of Remembrance is nothing

short of a moving, emotional experience. The same could

certainly be said for a visit to any war cemetery in the world, by

a person of any race, religion or nationality, in a cemetery

dedicated to the dead from any conflict throughout the ages. The

Commonwealth War Graves Commission alone is responsible for

some half a million dead from World War 2, buried in nearly

30,000 cemeteries worldwide. But what makes this War

Cemetery in fabled Ambon different is that over two-thirds of a

single Australian battalion group lies here in eternal rest, many of

them without the privilege of having their name recorded on

their headstone.

If these War Cemeteries worldwide arc indeed 'Silent Cities'

as Kipling called them, then the Ambon War Cemetery is more of

a village in the Asian concept, where every person is known to

each other- a community, not as impersonal as a city. Yet it also

represents the imperial tradition of reassembling the troops in

the form of a 'hollow square' after a battle to call the roll and

count the dead, who would be gathered within the square. The

Ambon War Cemetery represents a merging of the closely

bonded Asian village concept with the western concept of the

'hallowed square', from which has evolved the tradition of the

parade ground representing the unit's dead. The ground in which

the Gull Force men lie is not only hallowed but unique, for it was

Conclusion 198

the site of their barracks before the Japanese invaded, and was

then the site of their incarceration for the remainder of the war.

And today, their essences are part of the grounds. It is the Gull

Force parade ground but it is also a community.

Watching the veterans and family members scattered

between row after row of bronze headstones after the official

commemoration service, each paying their personal respects,

brings the quick realisation that this is more than just a simple

visit to a cemetery. These men at rest in the Ambon War

Cemetery were their mates - not just one or two, or even a

handful, but hundreds. Talking to veterans and their relatives

following such a Pilgrimage each Anzac Day, it becomes quickly

apparent that the commemorative service held in Ambon has

something of a levelling effect. In honouring those who died in

the Laha executions, the massacre of over 200 Australians, man's

abhorrent capacity for inhumanity is again recalled. It is an

opportunity to ponder the fragility of human life. But more than

this, such a visit deflates any personal ego that might be

possessed and makes any individual achievements pale compared

with the enormous sacrifices made by so many. Sacrifices made

equally by many local Ambonese, and the Australians are now

close friends with those who survived the beatings and torture,

finding in each other a spiritual connection. A considerable

number of sacrifices were made unwittingly, with a fair degree of

personal sutiering. Many more sacrifices however, were made by

Australians and Ambonese alike who knowingly faced death and

accepted their fate with courage. No-one can visit their graves

Conclusion 199

and memorials and hear of this courage without being humbled.

While honouring the service and sacrifice of their

Australian mates and Ambonese friends, the veterans have

· overcome their grief, anger and bitterness and have looked to the

future. In coming to terms with the aggression and oppression of

the Japanese, the Gull Force men have seized an opportunity to

thank the Ambonese community for their friendship and loyalty.

The annual Anzac Day commemorative services in Ambon, and

the community assistance provided by Gull Force Association,

have continued to strengthen the already strong links between

Ambon and Darwin, and have further created a framework for

mutual co-operation and development which the rest of Australia

would be well advised to emulate.

Before the Cross of Sacrifice at Tantui on Anzac Day 1998,

the NORCOM Chaplain commenced his service with a simple

observation:

On many of the graves that are behind me lies the inscription, 'An Australian soldier, known unto God'. We are used in Australia to hearing the phrase, 'an unknown soldier'. But reading this inscription is a positive statement. That these crosses mark known men. That the graves of men who are unable to be identified are known. That the places and the occasions, and those involved in the great tragedies that occurred here, are known 1.

One of the prime outcomes of any Pilgrimage is an attainment of

knowledge. Through their personal visits, families, friends and

Conclusion 200

indeed some veterans, have gained insight and understanding

into the tragic circumstances on Ambon and during the post-war

years, and the plaques on the graves are tangible reminders of a

milestone reached, no matter how brutally. The graves to the

unknown are in fact positive icons, because they represent the

graves of men, although those men could not be identified at the

time, but each man was accorded the honour of a grave

nonetheless. Those still without their burial site recorded have

the Ambon Memorial itself as their collective headstone, and the

sacrifice of the Ambonese is honoured in Kudamati. For those

who visit, the fellowship with the veterans and Ambonese brings

knowledge and understanding: the icon represents finiteness to

the memories, and the Anzac Day Service itself assumes the form

of the funeral service which is a necessary psychological event in

the transition towards overcoming grief. Participating in the

Ambon Pilgrimage after having already participated in

Pilgrimages to Villers-Bretonneaux, Lieutenant Colonel Chris

Wrangle noted that,

... whilst ANZAC Day Services will always hold a very special meaning for those who attend, the services held in conjunction with a pilgrimage appear to have an even stronger meaning 2.

In this way, the Ambon War Cemetery and other memorials on

Ambon together with the various reunions and celebratory

activities, collectively constitute a spiritual experience which can

be compared in nature with the entombing of the unknown

soldiers. In the simplest form, they provide a focus for repaying

Conclusion 201

an 'obligation to past sacrifices' by Australians and Ambonese

alike, and constitute a 'chronotope' by bringing together official

and personal memory. But the Pilgrimage achieves more than

just this - it has served a wider purpose in assuaging grief and

finalising emotions for veterans and families. It has allowed

them to make the transition into grieving, and finally realise

closure of their emotions.

For the veterans themselves, the Pilgrimages have allowed

them to overcome their post-war anger and bitterness, to face the

future in a positive way and harness and redirect their latent

energy. Gull Force Association has achieved an undoubted

success over the past three decades with what is described as

'sustainable remembrance' - using the Pilgrimage to 'remember'

their mates in the traditional Western sense, but also using a

Medical Aid Programme and sponsorship scheme to honour that

memory with a pragmatic and sustainable gratitude. The Gull

Force Pilgrimage has incorporated several Indonesian aspects

within this remembrance, in which the veterans' survival was

their fate or destiny (nasib), permitting their ultimate return to

Ambon. Similarly, the Pilgrimage represents an inevitable

cyclical return to a person's origins, while they are concurrently

proceeding on life's journey - what julius Tahija has called his

lakon 3. Through the Medical Aid Programme and sponsorship

scheme, the Pilgrimage (Ziarah) is also forward-looking, providing

an opportunity to reflect on the bravery of predecessors whilst

preparing for the future. And now, through the increasing

involvement of families and friends, the Pilgrimage has become

Conclusion 202

sustainable allowing a continuation of the cycle. The Pilgrimage

has undeniably grown in stature since its humble beginnings -

largely because of its unqualified acceptance by the people of

Ambon, and because of the personal bonds which have existed

between the veterans and the Ambonese, and which now exist

between their families.

The circumstances of Tan Toey Camp, described as, "the

worst POW camp in the en tire Pacific " 4, drive home the horror

of their captivity, and the Gull Force survivors could be excused

for retaining racist, or anti-Asian, sentiments. They are perhaps

among the least racist of Australians however, and have freely

and regularly welcomed Ambonese families into their homes,

although certainly they came home with strong feelings towards

the japanese. Forgiveness, it is freely conceded by the veterans,

could be a possibility but, as Rod Gabriel has said, "To forget is

not possible " s. In 1997, Naval Chaplain Eric Burton from HMAS

Coonawarra in Darwin came to recognise two levels of brutality in

the circumstances of Laha and Tan Toey6. There was firstly the

inhumanity at the individual level, where a single person could so

readily find the ability to display wanton aggression towards

another human. The death rates and numbers of Australians

executed by the japanese cannot be explained away simply

through higher level directives- bashings, torture and executions

were often carried out by individuals alone. And then at a higher

level, he found it incomprehensible that there could be such a

corporate attitude of supremacy - to the extent that human life at

whatever scale was simply a matter of economies. Little wonder

Conclusion 203

that survivors like Rod Gabriel called for a public apology from

the Japanese Emperor for their term in 'His Majesty's Hotel'.

Indonesia and Australia are fundamentally different in

almost all areas, and that some form of relationship could be

established between two such diverse peoples would not

considered possible by most Australians. One of the few who

could envisage it was Sir Zelman Cowen who, in the 1950s (when

Dean of Law at the University of Melbourne) had foretold the

importance of Australia's links with Asia7. Nevertheless, there is

today a strong link between the cities of Ambon and Darwin,

forged in 1941-42 and reinforced in 1988 when they became

Sister Cities. At the time when this Sister-Cities Agreement was

ratified, the two Lord Mayors had expressed their firm belief that

through this co-operation, Darwin and Ambon could "contribute

to the cause of world peace, good will and understanding " s.

Perhaps the most significant linkage to ensue was a Memorandum

of Understanding (MOU) signed on 22 January 1992 by the

Governments of Indonesia and the Northern Territory. This MOU

formalised each Government's recognition of the strategic and

commercial importance of regional co-operation between the

Northern Territory and the nine provinces of eastern Indonesia.

The significance of this MOU can be seen in the fact that

Indonesia had never before signed such a memorandum with a

State or Territory in preference to a national government. The

MOU specifically has the intention of promoting mutually

beneficial trade and development in the Northern Territory and

eastern Indonesia, with particular benefits for Ambon being

Conclusion 204

identified as fishing, timber and shipping industries and tourism,

as well as education and training.

This growth in trade closely paralleled, for example, the local

growth of the Perkins Shipping Group in Darwin led by Bruce

Perkins, who had taken a humble operation using old Army

landing craft and turned it into a company with an annual

turnover of more than $35 million, by maintaining, "a constant

vision ... that Australia's future was in the north " 9. Within the

framework of the 1992 MOU, since 1993 a delegation from

Ambon, including the Maluku Region Tourist Office, has

participated in the Northern Territory's Trade Expo held in

Darwin. At the time of Expo '93, which was attended by the

largest Indonesian delegation to ever leave its shores, the Chief

Minister of the Northern Territory the Honourable Marshall

Perron MLA said, "I am convinced that history will show that we

will become much stronger trading partners and closer

friends " 10. Three years later, the Australian Minister for

Defence observed that Australia is economically integrated with

the Asia-Pacific region, and that during the early years of the

21st century, Asia's influence on global affairs will continue to

grow. He reflected that,

Australia's future security - indeed our future social and economic prosperity - depends on our ability to be a strong, independent and valued partner with our neighbours in the Asia-Pacific 11.

Conclusion 205

With the onset of ethnic and religious violence on Ambon in

January 1999, the issue of regional stability was again brought to

the forefront of the Australian public's consciousness. The

relaxation of the tight controls which characterised the Suharto

era allowed a series of spontaneous outbursts throughout the

archipelago. Widely perceived as purely a Christian versus

Moslem struggle, the riots and violence on Ambon in particular

were instead a manifestation of a simmering hostility between

indigenous (predominantly Christian) Moluccans and relatively

recent voluntary migrants and government-sponsored trans

migrants (mostly Moslems). The increasing likelihood of

autonomy being granted to East Timor perhaps also awakened the

long-dormant hopes of those who still cherished a vision of an

autonomous South Moluccan Republic, or at least prompted pro

Jakarta elements to forcibly deny the opportunity for any such

vision to develop. The escalating tensions in the early part of the

year had an immediate effect in Darwin with the early

cancellation of the 1999 Darwin-Ambon yacht race, an annual

event since 1977. The participation of the ADF in any Pilgrimage

to Ambon remained in doubt during March, while the remarkable

momentum of Gull Force Association itself had flagged

momentarily with the death of stalwart Pilgrimage Co-ordinator

Rod Gabriel in February 1999.

As the ADF prepared during April to still conduct the 1999

Pilgrimage but on a reduced scale, the coincidence of similarity

with 1968 became apparent. In the preparations for that visit,

the first Gull Force Pilgrimage by veterans and relatives, the

Conclusion 206

Association was advised that Indonesian authorities would not

allow movement through Ambon town or outside the cemetery

due to ongoing civil disturbances on the island: "the situation on

the island was too uncertain - in the city quite dangerous ",

recorded Ian Macrae12. Similarly in 1999, only return

movements direct from the aircraft to hotel and hotel to cemetery

were permitted, with a security guard provided by Yonif Linud

733 BS, the local infantry battalionB. In the end, the Australian

Minister for Defence recognised the significance of the annual

Pilgrimage and was determined that the continuity of

representation should not be broken. It is noteworthy that the

Australian and Indonesian governments acknowledged that the

Anzac Day service at Ambon War Cemetery is of such significance

that its observance had to continue, despite local disturbances

and unrest. The Australian Defence Force was represented by

Commander Northern Command, Commodore Geoff Smith AM

RAN ADC, and Rod Gabriel's son Alex, a serving Army Reserve

officer with the Royal Victorian Regiment, represented Gull Force

Association.

The Gull Force Pilgrimage has been conducted by survivors

for three decades now, and in more recent years has been

expanded in scope to incorporate the sons of those who died and

the Corvetteers. The time has now come that there are

increasingly fewer veterans able to participate, whether officially

in the Gull Force Pilgrimage, privately, or as a member of the RSL

Travel Group. It has increasingly become apparent in recent

years that the special affinity between Gull Force and the

Conclusion 207

Ambonese can only be made sustainable by including siblings,

children and grandchildren of veterans. After the death of Rod

Gabriel in February 1999, his daughter Melissa noted that she

and her brother Alex intended keeping Gull Force Association

active in any way they could:

When we held the Gull Force AGM last week it was decided that anyone can become a member, we need as many people as possible, females included, to keep it going. Alex and I are going to give it our best effort although many of the veterans feel it will dwindle away in the next few years- I hope not! 14.

At this AGM, Eric Kelly was elected President of Gull Force

Association; Alex Gabriel was elected Vice-President and his

sister Melissa was elected Treasurer. Significantly, Alex and

Melissa were successful in abolishing the Associate Membership

category and broadening the criteria for membership, creating

the opportunity for the 'Daughters of Ambon' and other relatives

and friends to join the Association as full members.

The undoubted basis of all of the links and co-operative

agreements which have been developed, and still the strongest

bond today, is the spiritual bond between the Ambonese and

their Australian defenders. It is proposed that the singular

success of the Gull Force Pilgrimage lies in the uniquely Moluccan

tradition of pela, a relationship based on a mutual and unspoken

obligation which perhaps mirrors the Australian mateship ethos.

Through the conjunction of these traditions, the Pilgrimage and

Medical Aid Programme were accepted by the Ambonese as part

Conclusion 208

of a pela alliance. This bond has its physical manifestation in the

Ambon War Cemetery and other related memorials and, through

the Pilgrimage, has been maintained between families - with the

Gaspersz family in particular. It was Bill and Barbara Gaspersz

that Corporal Arthur Young wrote of in his transcript of the

escape from Tan Toey Camp on 17 March 1942 when he praised

the assistance of the Ambonese:

... in our hearts we fervently hope that some day in the future we will meet those two good people again, and when we look back, as we hope we will be able to, show our gratitude without any reservation. Surely we will never forget these friends of ours 15.

With the establishment of the Pilgrimage, the veterans finally

gained the opportunity for reunions with the Gaspersz', and

reciprocated by hosting them on visits to Australia. And as the

Gaspersz' had freely opened their home to the Australians on

Ambon, in 1999 Bill and Barbara Gaspersz have invoked pela to

escape the unrest on Ambon, being hosted in Australia by the

family of the late Rod Gabriel in fulfilment of the promise of

Jinkins, Young and other Gull Force survivors.

The Pilgrimage has certainly been assisted in its growth

through the ADF's commitment to ongoing support but any future

escalation in official representation should not be to the

detriment of these long-established personal bonds. The Gull

Force Pilgrimage must be allowed to continue, but perhaps under

the continuing auspices of ADF support to a wider Ambon

Pilgrimage the concept can continue to expand to include veterans

/

Conclusion 209

(and families) of No.13 Squadron RAAF and the 33rd Infantry

Brigade ('Amforce'). Further, the Pilgrimage has clearly served a

number of psychological processes for veterans and their families,

and it is interesting to consider whether a special joint Pilgrimage

to Ambon· could one day effect some form of reconciliation

between Gull Force and japanese veterans, or at least between

their families.

Today, the future prospects for the Pilgrimage appear to be

in doubt. As the Gull Force Pilgrimage faces the possibility of an

enforced recess, or even cessation, it becomes vital that the

efforts of Jinkins and Gabriel, the sacrifice of Daniel Gaspersz and

other Ambonese families, and the achievements associated with

the Gull Force Medical Aid Programme are recorded. The story of

the Gull Force Pilgrimages epitomises the promise to remember,

in both the Australian and Indonesian manner, and provides a

tangible basis for an ongoing relationship. And in 1999, as

Australia again progresses regional engagement by military

means, whether for humanitarian reasons or simply to shore up

economic advantages, the words of Gull Force veterans again

come to the forefront. Significantly, it was not a politician but a

survivor of Ambon, Major john Turner MBE, who as long ago as

1968 foretold: "In the peace and prosperity of Asia lies

Australia's ultimate destiny " 16.

/

Conclusion 210

Notes

1 Squadron Leader A Knight, Anzac Day Address (Tantui, Ambon), 25 April 1998.

2 Lieutenant Colonel C G Wrangle, pers comm, 1 November 1998. 3 Tahija (1995), p.3. 4 Mr John Underwood, Heritage Australia, November 1995, p.18. The Ambon

POWs were also said to have suffered "one of the worst death rates of the War" (Ford, 1996, p.122).

5 Northern Territory News, 24 April 1995. Lionel Penny was equally adamant; see Penny (Unpublished notes, 1985).

6 Chaplain E Burton RAN, pers comm, 17 April 1997; Chaplain E Burton RAN, Anzac Day Address (Tantui, Ambon), 25 April 1997 (based upon Rosenzweig, P A, "Ambon Pilgrimage 1997". Daily newsletters produced for the Pilgrimage to Ambon, 23-27 April 1997).

7 Gregory, Dr A, Chairman of The Sir Robert Menzies Lecture Trust, Remarks following the 1995 Sir Robert Menzies Lecture by the Right Hon Sir Zelman Cowen AK GCMG GCVO QC, Melbourne, 28 November 1995.

8 Letter of Intent signed on 28 October 1988 by J Dicky Wattimena and Mr Alec Fong Lim AM.

9 The Hon J H Muirhead AC QC, memorial service for Mr V B Perkins AM CStJ, 6 November 1992. See Rosenzweig, P A, For Service. Awards of the Order of Australia for service to the Northern Territory, 7 975-1995. Historical Society of the Northern Territory, Darwin, 1995, pp.13, 53.

10 The Hon M Perron MLA, Media Release dated 23 June 1993. 11 Mclachlan, I, "Australia and the United States into the next Century".

Address by the Honourable lan Mclachlan AO MP, Minister for Defence, to the Australian Institute of International Affairs 22nd National Conference, Brisbane, 22 November 1996.

12 Major I F Macrae OBE (retd), pers comm, 25 March 1997. 13 Yonif Linud 733 BS: Batalyon lnfanteri Lintas Udara 733, Berdiri Sendiri -

the 733rd (Airborne) Infantry Battalion, an independent battalion based where Fort Nieuw Victoria once stood, one of six infantry battalions within KODAM VIII/Trikora.

1 4 Mrs Melissa Howgate, pers comm, 14 April 1999. 15 Young, A, "Ambon to Darwin, 17th March '42- 4th May '42". Unpublished

transcript, with attached notes, dated 28 November 1968. 1 6 Major J M Turner MBE (retd), Mufti, 30 April 1968, p. 7.


Paul A Rosenzweig

GLOSSARY

GLOSSARY

Ambon Force ('Amforce')

Ambon Force was the Australian 33rd Infantry Brigade, a 2, 705

member occupation force sent from Morotai to Ambon on

23 September 1945. Appointed Commander of the Brigade on

17 September 1945 was Brigadier William Allan Beevor Steele

CBE, who had been Commander of the 7th Military District

(Northern Territory) when the 2/21st Battalion had first arrived

in Darwin and had deployed as part of Steele's Darwin Defence

Plan.

Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) was a quad-Service

organisation, comprising Army, Air Force, Navy (including

Marines) and Police. ABRI had two very clear roles, under a

programme known as Dwifungsi. First and foremost, it was an

armed force, existing to defend the motherland from both

external aggression and internal disruptions to security.

Secondly, ABRI conducted a civil-military co-operation

programme throughout the archipelago. On 1 April 1999 the

Police separated from ABRI, since which time it has been known

as the Indonesian National Army, Tentara Nasional Indonesia

(TNI) (qv).

Amahusu Defence Line

The Amahusu Defence Line was a 1.5 km long revetted trench

system in the vicinity of the village of Amahusu, southwest of

Ambon town on Laitimor Peninsula, with established fire

positions and reinforced concrete pillboxes. After it was occupied

G.lossary 212

by Gull Force, it was held by D Company (Captain Newnham), and

was later reinforced by a platoon from B Company (Lieutenant

Chaplin) from Cape Batuanjut as the situation on Ambon

deteriorated.

Aru Islands - see Dobo

Australian Prisoner-of-War Association Cross

The Australian Prisoner-of-War Association Cross is in the form

of a rupert cross, a cross paty with convex ends to the arms, with

a central disc bearing an enamelled outline of Australia. In the

four arms are the insignia of the RAN, Army, Army Nursing Corps

and RAAF. The suspension bar bears the title 'PRISONER OF

WAR', with a strand of barbed-wire forming its lower edge. The

reverse of the cross is plain, and could be privately engraved.

This is not an official award, and is not recognised in the

Australian Honours System, but rather is a medal struck to

recognise service as a POW not otherwise acknowledged.

Dobo

Dobo, on the island of Wama, is the major port in the Aru Islands,

one of three strategically located groups in the Arafura Sea. The

Aru islands are the easternmost of the three, nearest to Merauke

in Dutch New Guinea, with a population in 1942 of about 15,000

(the majority reportedly loyal to the Dutch). Dobo was occupied

by japanese forces from Ambon on 30 july 1942 despite

opposition by five NEFIS ( qv) brigades commanded by Captain

Edwards van Muyen (as part of Operation Plover, qv).

Glossary 213

Eri Defence Line

The Eri Defence Line was in the vicinity of the village of Eri,

southwest of Ambon town on Laitimor Peninsula. After it was

occupied by Gull Force, the Eri Defence Line was held by

A Company (Major Westley), reinforced by a Dutch rifle company

(Captain Bouman). A rifle section supported by engineers and

bren carriers was based at Latuhalat on the very southwestern

tip of Laitimor Peninsula, and a platoon from B Company

(Lieutenant Chaplin) was at Cape Batuanjut, just north of Eri.

Gull Force

'Gull Force' was the operational title for the 2/21st Battalion

Group AIF. This was an infantry battalion, the 2/21st Battalion,

supplemented by auxiliary troops from the 23rd Brigade

(8th Division), including:

• No.3 Section from the 2/11th Field Company, Royal

Australian Engineers

• C Troop of the 18th Anti-Tank Battery, Royal Australian

Artillery

• B Company of the 2/12th Field Ambulance, Royal Australian

Army Medical Corps

• the 104th Light Aid Detachment, Australian Electrical &

Mechanical Engineers

• a detachment from the 23rd Brigade (8th Division) Signal

Section

• a detachment from the 23rd Brigade Special Dental Unit

• No.1 Section, Australian Army Service Corps

Glossary 214

• Australian Army Pay Corps personnel

• Australian Army Postal Corps personnel

HMAS Chinampa

A motorised ketch of 60 tons built in 1938, HMAS Chinampa was

powered by a 4-cylinder Vivian diesel motor and armed with two

Vickers .303-inch machine-guns. She was commissioned into

service with the RAN on 1 March 1942.

HMAS Southern Cross

A twin-screw motor yacht of 298 tons powered by Gardner diesel

engines, HMAS Southern Cross carried one Vickers .303-inch and

two Browning .SO-inch machine-guns. Much of the steel used in

her construction was salvaged from German warships scuttled in

Scapa Flow in 1918. She was being used as a missionary vessel in

the Solomon Islands when she was requisitioned by the RAN, and

was commissioned on 18 june 1941.

Hombu

Hombu ('Headquarters') was the abbreviated name for Galala

Hakentai Hombu (Galala Guard Detachment Headquarters). This

was the headquarters of the guard contingent at Galala, using the

building which had formerly been Tan Toey's house, which

housed a japanese radio station and offices for the interpreter

Ikeuchi Masakiyo and senior members of the camp garrison. The

true Japanese headquarters was at Fort Nieuw Victoria in Ambon

town.

Glossary 215

International POW Medal

The International POW Medal is in the form of a standard service

medal with the traditional suspension bar. On the obverse

(front), it bears the title 'International Prisoners of War' around a

design featuring the dove of peace flying over a length of barbed

wire, superimposed on a globe. The reverse of the medal bears

the legend, 'Intrepid against all Adversity' around a large barbed

wire knot. An unusual feature of the ribbon is a central black

stripe with a vertical strand of barbed-wire in white. This is not

an official award, and is not recognised in the Australian Honours

System, but rather a medal struck to recognise particular service

as a POW not otherwise acknowledged.

Kai Islands - see Tual

KDM-MIB

The original geographic and administrative divisions of the

Indonesian archipelago (each named Territorium, qv) were later

redesignated as Komando Daerah Militer (Military Area

Command, KDM). KDM-MIB was established on 26 May 1957,

with headquarters in Ambon. It was a geographically-based

strategic compartment responsible for the Moluccas (Maluku) and

Western New Guinea (Irian Barat). The first commander of KDM

MIB was Lieutenant Colonel Herman Pieters, former commander

ofRI-25, appointed on 26 june 1957. Pieters and his fellow KDM

commanders were appointed as military administrators on 5 July,

with emergency war powers. After Pieters, there was not

another Moluccan commander unti11999.

Glossary 216

KODAM VIII/ Trikora

KODAM VIII (ABRI's 8th Military Area Command) was raised on

8 May 1985 by the amalgamation of KODAMs XV and XVII ( qv).

Commanded by a Major General, KODAM VIII became responsible

for both Maluku and Irian ]aya provinces, with its Headquarters

in jayapura, Irian jaya. This KODAM's title is drawn from the

name of the operation for the liberation of Western New Guinea

from Dutch rule, from 19 December 1961 to 1 May 1963 (Operasi

Trikora, an acronym for Tri-Komando Rakyat - the People's Triple

Command issued by Soekarno regarding the liberation). This

structure, particularly having KODAM headquarters located in

jayapura, has long been offensive to the fiercely independent

Moluccans, and was partly redressed in May 1999 with the

appointment of a Christian Ambonese military commander,

Brigadier General Max Tamaela.

KODAM XV/Pattimura

KODAM XV (ABRI's 15th Military Area Command) was created by

the division of KDM-MIB (qv) on 17 August 1962, and became

responsible for Maluku, with its Headquarters in Ambon. This

KODAM's name honours Kapten Pattimura (a former British Army

soldier, Thomas Matulessy), the famous 19th Century Moluccan

patriot in the fight against the Dutch. For the duration of its

existence, KODAM XV was commanded by non-Moluccan Brigadier

Generals. KODAM XV was dis-established with the raising of

KODAM VIII/Trikora on 8 May 1985 (qv).

Glossary 217

KODAM XVIII Tjenderawasih

KODAM XVII (ABRI's 17th Military Area Command) was created

by the division of KDM-MIB (qv) on 17 August 1962, and became

responsible for Irian Barat (later renamed Irian ]aya), with its

Headquarters in jayapura. This KODAM was named after the

covert penetration behind Dutch lines in Western New Guinea by

the Army's Strategic Command and the subsequent campaign of

armed insurgency ( Operasi Tjenderawasih, named after the bird

of paradise, cenderawasih). KODAM XVII was dis-established

with the raising of KODAM VIII!Trikora in 1985 (qv).

Komando Daerah Militer (KODAM. Military Area Command)

The Indonesian Armed Forces were first allocated to particular

Military Area Commands in 1957. These commands were

organised geographically throughout the archipelago as strategic

compartments, but were structured functionally as divisions to

respond to any act of internal insurrection or external aggression.

The number of KODAMs was reduced from seventeen to ten in

March 1983 under General Benny Moerdani as Minister for

Defence and Security and Commander of ABRI, when there was a

rationalisation between central and territorial forces.

Koninklijk Nederlandsch Indische Leger (KNIL)

The Royal Netherlands Indies Army was raised by King William I

(the restored Prince of Orange) in 1830. It was an army which

comprised native troops from Ambon, Manado, java, Sunda,

Madura, Timor and Aceh, as well as non-Christian Alfurs from

Halniahera, Bugis from Sulawesi and, from 1929, Bataks. The

Glossary 218

troops were under the command of Dutch officers, and the army

fulfilled purely an internal security role. The KNIL force on

Ambon totalled some 2,600 men; of this number, some 200 were

officers, NCOs and noncombatant personnel. By far the bulk of

the KNIL forces were native Indonesian troops, mostly local

Ambonese and some Menadonese from the North Celebes (North

Sulawesi), organised into infantry companies commanded by

Dutch officers. The Ambonese were trained at a KNIL college

near Eri, incurring a three year 'return of service' obligation.

These young men were known by the Dutch title of Kort Verband,

but colloquially within the KNIL were referred to as Tentara Tiga

Tahun ('The Three-Year Army'). In 1941, young men were

'mobilised' for military training and many of them were then

employed to guard forts, posts and villages. These supporters of

the trained soldiers were called Land Wacht.

The Dutch land force on Ambon comprised a KNIL Militia infantry

battalion with its headquarters in the barracks at Victoria, and a

Landstorm (Home Guard) battalion. There was a cavalry battalion

with headquarters at Benteng, comprising two cavalry companies

(with just three armoured cars) based at Paso and Leahari on the

central south coast. There were two mobile artillery batteries at

Laha and Paso, one anti-aircraft unit with Bofors guns at Laha,

and one battery of coastal artillery at Benteng Point and Lateri,

looking out over the Bay of Ambon and the inner Binnen Bay

respectively. A rifle company with mortars and machine-guns

was positioned on the northern shore at Hitu-Lama, facing out

over the strait between Ambon and Seram. A force of about 300

troops, two companies, and two Bofors guns was stationed at Laha

Glossary 219

airfield. And the landing beaches at Paso were defended by a

complex trench system, occupied by the majority of the KNIL

troops, of about battalion strength. On the southern peninsula,

defence lines at Halong (the sea-plane base) and Benteng (coastal

artillery gun emplacements) were manned in minimal numbers,

while the defence lines at at Amahusu and at Eri were strongly

manned. The wharves at Ambon and Benteng, which afforded

oiling and coaling facilities, were fortified.

In addition to the KNIL assets on Ambon, there were three

Brewster Buffalo F2A fighters (one of them unserviceable) of the

Royal Netherlands Indies Army Air Service (Militaire Luchtvaart,

ML-KNIL), and nine Catalina flying-boats of the Royal

Netherlands Navy at Halong.

KOREM 174

KOREM 174/Pattimura was a Komando Resort Militer (Military

Resort Command), a sub-area command (strategic compartment)

within KODAM VIII/Trikora (qv) responsible for Ambon and its

neighbouring islands (1985-99). Commanded by a Colonel, the

KOREM was configured to deal with internal security issues or to

provide the initial response in the event of external aggression.

It carried the name of the 19th Century Moluccan patriot

Pattimura, but many Moluccans felt slighted that it was

subordinate to a KODAM headquarters in Irian jaya. This was

redressed in May 1999 with the KOREM's upgrading in status to

KODAM, and the appointment of Brigadier General Max Tamaela, a

Christian Ambonese, as KODAM commander ( Panglima KODAM,

Pang dam).

Glossary 220

Laha Airfield

Laha airfield on Hitu Peninsula was used as a base by Number

13 Squadron RAAF until the squadron was withdrawn by the

Australian Government. After the arrival of Gull Force (qv), the

airfield was defended by B Company (Captain Perry) less one

platoon and C Company (Captain Watchorn), together with some

300 Dutch troops and two Dutch Bofors guns for air defence.

Military Order of William (De Militaire Willems-Orde)

The Military Order of William is the Netherlands' highest honour

conferred for outstanding courage, leadership and loyalty towards

Monarch and Country. The insignia features the green Burgundy

Cross and a white Maltese Cross, with the inscription, Voor Moed -

Beleid- Trouw ('For Courage- Leadership- Loyalty'). The ribbon

is yellow and blue, the colours of the House of Orange Nassau.

This Order is rarely conferred, and is accordingly highly

esteemed: holders are saluted when they are wearing their

insignia.

Netherlands East Indies Forces Intelligence Service <NEFIS)

NEFIS was a secret organisation which conducted intelligence

gathering operations in the occupied NEI. After the Dutch

withdrawal from the NEI, the Northern Territory was a logical

place for regrouping by the various former members of the KNIL.

A Dutch shortwave wireless station was set up at Batchelor and a

joint Australian-Dutch party established an Allied Intelligence

Bureau base at the old East Arm quarantine station ('Lugger

Maintenance Section'). The NEFIS parties formed part of the

Glossary 221

large-scale intelligence-gathering Operation Plover ( qv), to assist

remaining Dutch officials in maintaining order and to protect pro

Dutch elements.

Operation Plover

'Plover' was a combined Dutch/ Australian operation in the

eastern Arafura Sea in early 1942, involving islands which could

potentially be used by the Japanese as 'stepping stones' to New

Guinea, or for aircraft bases within reach of Darwin. The

operation comprised a series of covert landings by small units to

either restore the islands' sovereignty, prevent them being used

by the japanese as airbases or to evacuate remaining KNIL

members, Dutch officials and their families. The Australian

component of Plover was a thirty-man party from Z-Special Unit

led by Bill Jinkins, which went to Saumlaki on HMAS Southern

Cross (qv) and HMAS Chinampa (qv) to make contact with the

Dutch Controller and return to Darwin with refugees. The Dutch

contribution to Plover comprised two NEFIS ( qv) brigades sent to

Tual (Kai Islands), five NEFIS brigades sent to Dobo (Aru Islands),

and one NEFIS brigade commanded by Sergeant Tahija which

heavily engaged the Japanese at Saumlaki (Tanimbar Group).

This relatively minor 'show of force' lasted just two weeks before

the japanese invaded and occupied the islands at the end of July

1942.

Orde van Trouw en Verdienste (Order of Loyalty and Merit)

The national decoration of the Netherlands Government, the Order

of Loyalty and Merit is a large bronze medal which features the

Glossary 222

Netherlands lion on the obverse, on a blue enamelled background,

within a wreath surmounted by the Royal Crown. At the base of

the wreath is a scroll with the legend, ]e Maintiendrai (I will

Maintain - meaning, "I will uphold the rights of the peoples of the

Netherlands"). On the reverse of the medal, again on a blue

enamelled background, are the words Trouw en Verdienste. The

suspension ribbon was in the national colours of the Netherlands,

equal stripes of red, white and blue.

Raja

The Raja is the hereditary head or leader of a village (literally,

'king' or 'lord'). Daniel Gaspersz, for example, was the hereditary

Raja of Naku village in 1941-42 when the Australians came to

Ambon; his ancestors were native inhabitants of Ambon,

originally from Naku village on the south coast of Laitimor

Peninsula, the eldest son having been appointed Raja in a direct

lineage dating back to the arrival of the Portuguese in 1650. His

son Bill Gaspersz held the title, until passing it on to his eldest

son, john Gaspersz, who is Caretaker of the Ambon War Cemetery.

Originally, the Raja held the appointment for life, but today it is

an elected, honorary, title only, and John is currently serving his

second five-year term.

Republik Maluku Selatan (Republic of the South Moluccas)

The RMS was an independent state established in 1950, seeking

autonomy from both Van Mook's autonomous State of East

Indonesia (Negara Indonesia Timur, NIT), which opposed the

formation of a unitary Republic, and the Indonesian federal

Glossary 223

republic (Republik Indonesia Serikat, RIS). The rebellion was led

by former Dutch troops and Christian Moluccan soldiers (ex

KNIL). Significantly, the date Dr Christopher Soumokil chose to

make his proclamation (refer Appendix 2) was April 25th.

Saumlaki

Saumlaki is the major port on the island of Jamdena ( 480 km

north of Darwin) in the Tanimbar Islands, one of three

strategically located groups in the Arafura Sea. The Tanimbars lie

south of the Kai islands, and west of the Aru islands, and in 1942

had a population of about 20,000 (mostly hostile towards the

Dutch). Sergeant julius Tahija and a NEFIS brigade (equivalent to

an Australian Army section) fought a significant defensive action

against the japanese at Saumlaki (as part of Operation Plover, qv).

Services Reconnaissance Department

The SRD was an organisation which mounted such famous

operations as 'Jaywick' and 'Rimau' (the covert raids on Singapore

Harbour), and raised 'Z-Special Unit' and 'M-Special Unit' as

holding units for the Allied Intelligence Bureau. Many SRD

operations were conducted from a secret base out of Darwin

known by the title of 'Lugger Maintenance Section'; this site is

today beside the access road to the new East Arm Port facility.

Tanimbar Islands - see Saumlaki

Tentara Nasional Indonesia

The Indonesian National Army (TNI) is the new designation for

Glossary 224

the Indonesian Armed Forces (Angkatan Bersenjata Republik

Indonesia, qv) since the separation of the Police from ABRI on

1 April 1999.

Territorium VII/Wirabuana

After Indonesia gained independence, the archipelago

(Nusantara) was divided into seven geographic and

administrative compartments (each named Territorium), through

which the central government maintained firm control over the

regional provinces. Territorium VII was established on 20 July

1950, with Colonel Alex Kawilarang as the first commander, to

deal with any act of internal insurrection or external aggression

within eastern Indonesia. Its headquarters was in Ambon, and it

possessed four regionally-based infantry regiments;

responsibility for the Maluku region lay with the 25th Infantry

Regiment (Resimen Infanteri 25, RI-25) based at Fort Nieuw

Victoria on Ambon and commanded by Lieutenant Colonel

Herman Pieters. After the establishment of the KDMs ( qv),

Territorium VII was officially disbanded on 24 October 1959.

Tromp

Tromp was a Royal Netherlands light cruiser with a crew of 309

men, armed with an array of anti-aircraft guns (six 5.9-inch, four

3-inch, six 20 mm and two twin 40 mm Bofors-Hazemeyer guns),

as well as six 21-inch torpedo tubes, proposed by Bill Jinkins to

assist in the liberation of Tan Toey Camp. The RNN had three

light cruisers in service in defence of the NEI: Tromp survived,

but De Royter and java were sunk or scuttled. Among its other

Glossary 225

casualties, the RNN also lost all seven of its destroyers, its only

coastal defence ship, all eight minelayers, all thirteen of its motor

torpedo boats and five of its twelve submarines.

Tual

Tual is the major port in the Kai Islands group, one of three

strategically located groups in the Arafura Sea. The Kai islands

are the northernmost of these, and in 1942 had a population of

about 20,000 (mostly Moslems). Tual was occupied by Japanese

forces from Ambon on 31 July 1942, despite opposition by two

NEFIS brigades commanded by Lieutenant Hieronymus (as part of

Operation Plover, qv).


Paul A Rosenzweig

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/


Paul A Rosenzweig

APPENDICES

Appendix 1

GULL FORCE STATISTICS

All official Gull Force records and rolls were lost during the

Japanese invasion, and few could be kept during captivity for fear

of discovery, making it almost impossible to prepare any serious

summary of statistics. The one published account of Gull Force's

service which offers nominal rolls unfortunately contains many

ommisions and inaccuracies 1.

In the Commanding Officer's last official message from

Ambon, he said that all records and codes had been destroyed at

the time of the invasion2. Many figures have been repeatedly

stated within Gull Force Association until they have become

accepted as factual, but have occasionally been questioned by

individuals. In addition, many statistics have been quoted as

relating to the 2/21st Battalion only, and not including the range

of detachments which collectively with the battalion comprised

Gull Force. Men with no known grave are listed on the Ambon

Memorial as belonging to the 2/21st Battalion or to their parent

Corps, but not every man listed under Medical Corps, for example,

belonged to B Company of the 2/12th Field Ambulance which was

attached to Gull Force.

Gull Force was not complete when it arrived on Ambon, and

its strength kept changing. HMAS Swan arrived at the end of

December 1941 with three men who had been left in Darwin with

illness3. On 16 January, Lieutenant Colonel Scott arrived by

aircraft, and Lieutenant Colonel Roach departed on the same

Appendix 1, Gull Force Statistics 1 -2

aircraft the following day. Also on 16 january, the Australian

vessel Kanimbla arrived, carrying a reinforcement party of 16

men and Captain Tanner, sent by AHQ as a Special Intelligence

Officer4. The Laha Garrison Commander, Captain Sandy (Officer

Commanding B Company) was evacuated to Darwin with malaria

and dysentery, and on 20 January 1942 was replaced as

commander by Major Newbury (OC C Company). If it seems

remarkable that no official records survived the invasion of

Ambon, consider the situation in Darwin: when HQ NT Force took

over from HQ 7th Military District, no record of certain key

memos could be found in the files. These memos related

specifically to allocations of particular officers to certain forces,

including Gull Forces.

At the time of consecrating the Ambon War Cemetery and

Memorial in 1968, it was stated that the strength of Gull Force on

Ambon was estimated at 1,100 all ranks6. One veteran stated the

strength to be 1,090 men, but then gave a figure of 1,1317. After

various calculations by members, Gull Force Association has

settled on 1,131 as the most widely accepted number of

Australian soldiers on Ambon at the time of the japanese

invasions. From this basis, many subsequent statistics have been

determined.

During their first weeks of captivity, Captain john Hooke,

Lance-Sergeant Danny Foley, Corporal Stuart Swanton and Private


Walter Hicks prepared a nominal roll of Australian POWs present

at Galala, Amboina ("Hooke Nominal Roll, 4 February 1942")9.

Although this roll was dated 4 February 1942, it was obviously

kept for some time (at great risk) as a 'running tally' because it

included the names of three men who avoided capture but were

brought into camp later (Corporal Benvie, and Privates Grovenor

& Wegner), and those wounded who were held in the Japanese

hospital in Ambon town until they were fit to travel (such as

Private Harry Williams, who arrived a month after the

surrender). As Camp Adjutant, Hooke maintained these records

until he was killed in the bomb-dump explosion within Tan Toey

Camp on 14 February 1943, and his duties were assumed by

lieutenants Van Nooten and Pullin, who transcribed the official

records kept by Hooke10.

Ikeuchi Masakiyo is known to have kept detailed records of

Laha and the Camp at Tan Toey, but these were destroyed at

war's end by order of the Japanese Admiral in charge of the

Ambon theatre before they could be accessed by the Allied

authorities. When brought before the War Trials Commission,

Ikeuchi relied solely on his memory for numbers of Australians

killed or executed, and repeatedly apologised for the unreliability

of his memory. He stated to the Commission that he ordered that

a nominal roll be prepared at Laha, which he handed to

lieutenant Fukuda, but had discarded his own copy when he was

transferred to Galala 11.


Detailed below are estimates of the most likely statistics

which relate to Gull Force, calculated backwards from known

figures (burials and survivors). Precise figures may never be

known.


Hitu Peninsula 31 January to 3 February 1942

It is said that there were a total of 292 men present at Laha at

the time of the invasion12 but a total of 292 deaths is given in a

nominal rolll3 - not accounting for those who were evacuated

before the invasion, escaped before capture or later surrendered.

In addition, one man (Corporal G Escott) was omitted14. Known

statistics for Laha are as follows:

*

*

11 men escaped before capture (see list below).

3 men initially avoided capture but later surrendered (see

list below).

In the nominal roll of 292 deaths (293 including Corporal Escott),

there are listed 18 men who actually died prior to the surrender,

leaving a total of 2 7 5 executed, although the same author states

229 in the textiS. The Ambon Memorial, listing those with no

known grave, contains 233 names under the title '2/21st

Battalion', and a further 34 under the individual Corps headings

of '2/llth Field Company, Royal Australian Engineers', 'Australian

Army Service Corps' and 'Australian Army Medical Corps' (but

not all of those named were attached to Gull Force). Confusing the

issue is the fact that records relating to the four mass graves at

Laha refer to a total of 319 bodies recovered16.


If it is accepted that 27 5 men were executed, and if it is

assumed that the identified battle casualties were also buried in

the same mass graves 17 (to produce a total of 319 bodies), then

this leaves a balance of 44 men killed in battle (whose bodies

were recovered) 18, Final assumed statistics for Laha are

therefore as follows:

*

* *

*

44 men were killed in battle at Laha.

275 men were executed at Laha after capture.

14 men avoided capture by escaping (but 3 of these later

surrendered).

1 2 men were wounded and were held by the Japanese

until they were transferred to Tan Toey Camp (see

following section).

Therefore, 345 men were present at Laha at the time of the

invasion. This total equates to the 292 deaths listed by Harrison

plus Corporal Escott, plus the 14 men who avoided capture, plus

at least another 38 men who were not named as battle casualties

(giving an assumed total of 44 battle casualties). There were

probably more at Laha because it is known, for example, that the

wounded were held for some time by the Japanese before being

transferred to Tan Toey Camp (but they were still counted in the

804 total of the Hooke Nominal Roll).

Appendix 1, Gull Force Statistics

Lieutenant McBride's escape party (total 9) 2 February 1942 Lieutenant McBride, J Warrant Officer Drane, H F Corporal Fincher, 1 W Private Drummy, J F Private Ellis, N E Private Keenan, A 1 Private Mackieson, B R Private Ogilvie, F Private Tingate, N T

McMahon & Devers' escape (total 2) 2 February 1942 Private Devers, H Driver McMahon, J

Miscellaneous escapees and casualties (total 3) subsequently brought in to Tan Toey Camp Corporal Benvie, L D

1 -7

Private Grovenor,J Died in captivity on Hainan, 1 September 1943.

Private Wegner, AC Died in captivity on Hainan,

23 June 1945


Laitimor Peninsula 31 January to 3 February 1942

The number of men present on Laitimor Peninsula can only be

estimated by working backwards from the number of men known

to have entered Tan Toey Camp as prisoners. Occasionally it is

quoted that '804 men entered camp on February 4th 1942', and a

further 'five men' were later transferred from Laha to Tan Toey,

but these statements are incorrect.

The start point for calculations is determined to be 804

based upon the Hooke Nominal Roll (4 February 1942). It is

known that 3 men were later transferred from Laha to Tan Toey

Camp, and one author states that 789 men were captured on

Laitimor Peninsula19: if this is so, then the balance of 12

represents the wounded brought in from Laha. Accepted

statistics for Laitimor Peninsula are therefore as follows:

*

*

*

*

5 men were killed in battle (see list below).

22 men escaped before capture (see list below)20.

7 8 9 men were captured on Laitimor Peninsula (who,

together with 12 wounded from Laha, comprise the

total of 801 men who surrendered and were

transferred to Tan Toey Camp).

3 men were later transferred from Laha to Tan Toey Camp

(see previous list).


This suggests that there were 8 16 men on Laitimor Peninsula at

the time of the invasion.

Killed in battle, Laitimor Peninsula (total 5 )21 1 & 2 February 1942 Lance-Sergeant Kay, B G

Lance-Corporal Richmond, R

Private Anderson, I T

Private Balcombe, R

Private Doolan, WT

Mount Nona 1 February 1942 Benteng/AJ.nahusu 1 February 1942 Benteng/AJ.nahusu 2 February 1942 Eri Defence Line 2 February 1942 Kudamati 1 February 1942

Lieutenant Chapman's escape party (total 21) 2 February 1942 Lieutenant Chapman, W A W01 Warren, I L C22 Sergeant Anderson, F Corporal Chugg, J W Private Ashton, G Private Ashton, K Private Ault, A H Driver Cassidy, J L Private Clark, T W Private Cofield, A T Private Cookesley, J F Driver Grady, A Private Hansen, E R Private Hawkins, A A Driver Hobbs, F G23 Driver Mcintosh, AD

Appendix 1, Gull Force Statistics

Driver Private Driver Private Private

Palmer, A Palmer, PH Robinson, A D Warren, RA White, F

Miscellaneous escape ( 1) Corporal Digney, H f24

1 -1 0


Tan Toey Camp. Ambon 4 February to 25 October 1942

Early estimates of survivors after the fighting all stood around

the 800-mark2S. The Hooke Nominal Roll however, listed 804

names including the three men who initially avoided capture

(Benvie, Grovenor & Wegner)26. Of these 804 who entered Tan

Toey Camp, during the period up to 25 October 1942, the

following statistics are accepted:

* *

*

*

1 man died (Private J Crilly, died 21 February 1942)27.

13 men escaped (see list below).

2 6 7 prisoners were taken to Hainan Island, China on

25 October 1942.

523 men remained in Tan Toey Camp after 25 October

1942 (as well as 14 Americans and 7 Dutch).

One of the most frequently confused figures is the number of men

who were transferred to Hainan, given most commonly as 26328

or 26729 (and the balance of men remaining in Tan Toey is widely

given as 52830). In the Tan Toey Nominal Roll for the period

after the men were removed to Hainan (26 October 1942 to

10 September 1945) there are listed a total of 537 men31.

However, this list wrongly includes 14 men who were not in the

camp during this period (13 had escaped, and 1 had died prior to

25 October 1942), leaving a total of 523 men in camp. This


number, plus the 267 removed to Hainan, 13 escaped, and 1 who

died, gives a correct total of 804 who had entered the Camp (as

given by the Hooke Nominal Roll). It therefore seems most likely

that 2 6 7 men transferred to Hainan.

Lieutenant Jinkins' escape party (total 7)32 17 March 1942 Lieutenant Lieutenant Lieutenant Corporal Private Private Private

Jinkins, WT Jack, A G Rudder, ROD Young, A W Chew, A Coe, HW33 Warne,C

Corporal Redhead's escape party (total 4) February 1942 Corporal Private Private Private

Redhead, F A34 Dahlberg, W C Goodall, RB

Johnson, D3S

Lance-Corporal Am or's escape party (total 2 )36 Lance-Corporal Amor, B C Private McPherson, R W


Hashio Camp. Hainan 25 October 1942 to 27 August 1945

Of the 2 6 7 men who were transferred to Hainan on 2 5 October

1942, the following statistics are accepted:

* *

*

*

67 men died in camp prior to liberation37.

9 men were killed by Chinese bandits in an ambush on

8 April 1944.

1 0 men were captured in the ambush on 8 April 1944 and

remain unaccounted for38.

181 men were liberated on 27 August 1945.

In some sources, it is claimed that '183 men' were liberated, of

whom two died, so that 181 were repatriated to Australia39.

There were in fact several who died 'after liberation' because of

persisting illnesses40, but only one man died after the prisoners'

departure from Hainan- Private] W Adams (whilst in transit in

Hong Kong, see list in following section). This gives a total of 181

survivors at the time of liberation from Hashio Camp41.

Appendix 1, Gull Force Statistics 1 -1 4

Tan Toey Camp. Ambon 26 October 1942 to 10 September 1945

In the Tan Toey Nominal Roll for the period after the men were

removed to Hainan (26 October 1942 to 10 September 1945),

there are listed a total of 537 men42. However, this list wrongly

includes 14 men who were not in the camp during this period

(13 had escaped, and 1 had died prior to 25 October 1942). This

leaves a total of 523 men in camp. This number, plus 267

removed to Hainan, 13 escaped, and 1 who died, gives a correct

total of 804 who entered the Camp (as given by the Hooke

Nominal Roll). Their fates were as follows:

*

*

*

*

1 7 men were executed by the Japanese ( 11 beheaded for

escaping, 5 beheaded for stealing food and 1 was

shot)43.

1 3 men were killed in bombings or died from wounds

inflicted by bombings44.

3 6 9 men died as a result of bashings, accidents and

malnutrition45.

124 men were liberated on 10 September 1945 (including

Sapper Prince, see below).

It has generally been stated that there were 121 men liberated46,

but a 1945 Army newspaper states clearly that 123 Australians

were taken to Morotai47. Walter Hicks is adamant that a


contemporary listing contained 123 names, although he is certain

that Sapper Syd Prince of No.3 Section from the 2/11 th field

Company, Royal Australian Engineers, was inadvertently

omitted48.


Liberation and Repatriation

It has generally been stated that there were a total of 300 men

repatriated after the war ( 181 from Hainan and 119 from

Ambon). There were in fact 301.

Of the 181 men known to have been liberated from Hainan

on 27 August 1945:

* *

1 man died after liberation (Adams, see below).

1 8 0 men were repatriated to Australia.

Of the 124 men known to have been liberated from Ambon

on 10 September 1945:

*

*

3 men died after liberation (Rush, Cooke & Newell, see

below).

121 men were repatriated to Australia.

Deaths after liberation (total 4)49 Lance-Corporal Rush, A 0 Morotai (ex-Ambon)

16 September 1945 Private Adams, J W Hong Kong ( ex-Hainan)

September 194550 Private Cooke, R T Morotai (ex-Ambon)

18 September 194551 Private Newell, W T Morotai (ex-Ambon)

13 September 194552


Gull Force Summary

Early statistics

*

*

1 man (Private Chellew) died before deployment overseas

and is buried in the Adelaide River War Cemetery.

Several personnel were posted in and out after the unit

arrived in Ambon, including Captain Sandy (evacuated to

Darwin with malaria and dysentery) and Lieutenant

Colonel Roach (recalled to Australia and replaced by

Lieutenant Colonel Scott).

Strength at the tjme of the Inyasjon

* It is now determined that the strength of Gull Force at the

time of the invasion of Ambon was approximately 1, 161

all ranks, comprising:

> 345 men present at laha at the time of the invasion.

> 8 16 men present on Laitimor Peninsula at the time of

the invasion.

Fate of Gull Force

* Escapes: Apart from the 3 men who initially avoided

capture at Laha (but later surrendered), a total of 46 men

successfully escaped53:

> 22 men escaped from Laitimor Peninsula before

capture.

> 11 men escaped from laha before capture.

>. 1 3 men escaped from Tan Toey Camp.


*

*

*

Surrender: 804 men surrendered and were transferred to

Tan Toey Camp, these comprising:

> 7 89 men captured on Laitimor Peninsula.

> 1 2 who surrendered after being wounded at Laha.

> 3 who escaped from Laha but later surrendered.

Transfer: 2 6 7 men were taken to Hashio Camp on Hainan

Island, leaving 52 3 Australians in Tan Toey Camp on

Ambon after 25 October 1942.

Deaths: A total of 8 14 men died or were killed, as follows:

> 49 men were killed in battle:

44 men killed in battle at Laha (assumed total).

5 men were killed in battle on Laitimor Peninsula.

> 2 9 2 men were executed by the japanese:

2 7 5 men were executed at Laha.

1 7 men were executed in Tan Toey Camp.

> 4 7 3 men from the POW camps died:

3 7 0 men died in Tan Toey Camp as a result of

bashings, accidents and malnutrition ( 1 before

25 October 1942, and 369 after this date).

13 died in Tan Toey Camp as a result of bombings.

6 7 men died in Hashio Camp.

19 men were killed by Chinese bandits on Hainan

(9 killed in an ambush, and 10 unaccounted for).

4 men died after liberation.


Location of Graves

* Of the 814 all ranks who died or were killed:

> 6 9 4 men are buried on Ambon, comprising:

5 men who were killed in battle on Laitimor

Peninsula.

1 7 men who were executed in Tan Toey Camp.

285 of the 319 men who died at laha (44 killed in

battle and 2 7 5 men executed - not all of whom

were recovered).

383 men who died in Tan Toey Camp (370 as a

result of bashings, accidents and malnutrition, and

13 as a result of bombings). /

4 men who died after liberation.

> 3 4 men from Laha are not accounted for.

> 7 6 men were buried within Hashio Camp in 1945

( 6 7 who died as a result of bashings, accidents and

malnutrition, and 9 who were killed in an ambush)S4;

their bodies were later re-interred in the British

Commonwealth War Cemetery in Yokohama, Japan.

> 1 0 men (who were captured and remain unaccounted

for) were listed on the memorial at Kranji War

Cemetery, Singapore.


Return to Australia

* 46 men successfully escaped.

* 121 men were repatriated to Australia, from the 124

liberated from Ambon.

* 180 men were repatriated to Australia, from the 181

liberated from Hainan.

Thus, there was a total of just 34 7 Gull Force men who survived

the war, from a strength of 1,161 at the time of the invasion (a

survival rate of 29.9%).


Notes

1 Harrison, C T, Ambon. Island of Mist. T W & C T Harrison, Victoria, 1988. 2 Army News, 15 February 1942, 19 February 1942. 3 Harrison (1988), p.29. HMAS Swan was later sunk by the Japanese during

such a delivery run to Ambon. 4 Harrison ( 1988), pp.3 7, 40; "Officers 'Gull' and 'Sparrow' Forces",

HQ NT Force Minute to HQ Allied Land Forces dated 14 November 1942. 5 "Officers 'Gull' and 'Sparrow' Forces", HQ NT Force Minute to HQ Allied

Land Forces dated 1 4 November 1 942. 6 Commonwealth War Graves Commission, "Ambon War Cemetery, Ambon,

Indonesia", 1968. 7 Les Hohl, in Rolley, A, Survival on Ambon. Ailsa Rolley, 1994, pp.1 & 40. 8 Harrison (1988), pp.44 & 260; Gull Force Association, Programme,

"Anzac Day, Ambon 1993, Lest We Forget". 9 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 28 February 1999. 1 0 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 28 February 1999. 11 Harrison ( 1 988), p.1 67 -168; Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 28 February

1999. 12 Harrison (1988), p62 & 79; Gull Force Association, Programme, "Anzac

Day, Ambon 1993, Lest We Forget". These men were from B Company (less 10 Platoon), C Company, an engineer section, four bren carriers, and detachments of medical, mortar and Service Corps personnel.

13 Harrison (1988), pp.79-86. 14 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 28 February 1999. 1 5 Harrison (1988), p.62 & 79; Gull Force Association, Programme, "Anzac

Day, Ambon 1993, Lest We Forget". There were also 11 (all ranks) members of No.1 3 Squadron who attempted to escape but were captured and executed (Harrison, 1988, p.86).

1 6 The four mass graves identified at Laha were found to contain 67, 46, 67 and 139 bodies respectively (Amforce to Landops dated 10 December 1945, MV 336-1-1 587). Harrison wrongly quotes 135 bodies in Grave 4 (Harrison, 1988, p.177).

17 Part of the initial Japanese defence at the War Trials Commission was that the bodies in these mass graves were all battle casualties. This was proven a lie when the exhumed remains included some whose wrists were bound with barbed wire, for example.

18 47 battle casualties were given as an estimate in Harrison (1988), p.62 & 79; Gull Force Association, Programme, "Anzac Day, Ambon 1993, Lest We Forget". There may have been more than 44, but their bodies not recovered.

19 39 officers and 750 other ranks captured on Laitimor Peninsula (Harrison, 1988, p.88).


2 0 It is sometimes stated that 28 men escaped prior to the surrender; one source says that, apart from Chapman's party, there were ~ other groups who escaped~ captivity (Redhead's party of 4, Amor's party of 2, and Digney), totalling 7 men (Harrison, 1988 p.60). It seems that these 7 men have been double-counted - as escapes prior to .and after the surrender.

21 Given as 7 killed in some sources, but there is no doubt the number killed was 5 (Harrison, 1988, p.149). This tallies with official records kept by Captain Hooke, and later transcribed by Lieutenant Van Nooten (Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 28 February 1999).

2 2 A typographical error implies that WO 1 Warren was a Wing Commander (Harrison, 1988, p.59).

2 3 Listed by Harrison (1988) as Hobbs (p.59) and also as Hubbs (p.148). 2 4 Harrison names Digney as an escapee from Laitimor Peninsula before

capture (Harrison, 1988, p.60), but does not name him in another list of escapees (p.148), nor is he listed in the Tan Toey nominal roll (pp.149-162). Corporal Digney's name does not appear on the Hooke Nominal Roll, 4 February 1942, and no firm evidence of his escape was ever presented.

2 5 Stated as "only 791 remained alive" by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission ("Ambon War Cemetery, Ambon, Indonesia", 1968). Generally given as 809 by Gull Force Association (Programme, "Anzac Day, Ambon 1993, Lest We Forget").

26 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 28 February 1999. 27 Incorrectly listed in the Tan Toey Nominal Roll after 25 October 1942

(Harrison, 1 988, p.l 51). 28 Stated as 263 by Les Hohl in Rolley, A, Survival on Ambon. Ailsa Rolley,

1994, p.137; by Courtney Harrison in the Hainan Nominal Roll (Harrison, 1988, p.253-259), and by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission ("Ambon War Cemetery, Ambon, Indonesia", 1968). Also given as 263 by Sapper Robinson (Sapper H 0 Robinson, 2/11 th Field Company RAE, Diary #6: Reconstruction of events, 30 January 1942 to 27 July 45).

29 Stated as 267 by Adam-Smith (1992), p-335; Gull Force Association, Programme, "Anzac Day, Ambon 1993, Lest We Forget"; Jinkins, Major W T, "Gull Force (2/21 Bn) Association, Pilgrimage to Ambon, October 1967", with annotations by Mr W D Hicks, p.65; and "Table Tops", No.1 03, 14 September 1945.

30 Adam-Smith (1992), p.336; Harrison (1988), pp.1 09, 143 & 162; Gull Force Association, Programme, "Anzac Day, Ambon 1993, Lest We Forget". A figure of 525 remaining from 791 was quoted by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission ("Ambon War Cemetery, Ambon, Indonesia", 1968).

31 Harrison (1988), pp.149-162.


32 Macrae OBE, Major I F, 'A description of Major Bill Jinkins activities up to the time he joined Z Force', unpublished notes, undated; Young, A, "Ambon to Darwin, 17th March '42 - 4th May '42". Unpublished transcript, with attached notes, dated 28 November 1968. Each member was correctly listed in the Tan Toey nominal roll as an escapee (Harrison, 1988, pp.149-162); all but Coe are correctly listed as escapees after capture in the text (p.91 , 1 48).

33 Coe was omitted from the list of escapees (Harrison, 1988, p.148) but was correctly listed as an escapee in the text (p.90), and was listed as "Escaped" in the Tan Toey nominal roll {p.151).

34 Redhead, Dahlberg & Goodall are listed incorrectly as escapees before capture by Harrison (1998), p.GO & 148, but are listed correctly in the Tan Toey nominal roll as escapees after capture (pp. 1 49-162).

3 5 Johnson is listed incorrectly in a list of escapees before capture (Harrison, 1988, p.GO), but is listed correctly as an escapee after capture in the text (p.148) and in the Tan Toey nominal roll (p.155).

3 6 Amor & McPherson are listed in a list of escapees before capture (Harrison. 1988, p.GO) but are also listed in the Tan Toey nominal roll as escapees (pp. 149 & 1 57).

3 7 Quoted as 67 in a summary table (Harrison, 1 988, p.253), but quoted as 66 in another summary table (p.260); only 56 are identified as died during captivity in the Nominal Roll (pp.353-259). Stated as 54 by Sapper Robinson (Sapper H 0 Robinson, Diary #6), but he only recorded up to .23 June 1945.

38 See Harrison (1988), pp. 21 5-222. Two of the ten died soon after the ambush and were buried in the village of Lao Ou. It is suspected that the remaining eight joined the Chinese in their campaign against the Japanese (as speculated by Harrison, p.221 ). Some certainly died in combat, but a number of 'tall blonde foreigners' reportedly lived for several years after the war, as free men amongst Chinese villagers who helped to cared for them (13 Squadron RAAF Newsletter, No. 52, May 1997, p.31 ). Walter Hicks visited Hainan with a Gull Force contingent in 1985 and notes that this assertion is not borne out by any statements by former guerilla fighters at that time (Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 28 February 1999).

39 Harrison {1988), pp.253 & 260; Jinkins, Major W T, "Gull Force (2/21 Bn) Association, Pilgrimage to Ambon, October 1967", with annotations by Mr W D Hicks, p.65. Les Hohl, in Rolley (1994 ), p.137, states that 1 81 were recovered, most probably meaning 181 were repatriated to Australia. In the Hainan Nominal Roll however (Harrison, 1988, pp.253-259), there are listed a total of 263 men - 10 correctly listed as captured and 9 as killed, but there are only 56 listed as died in captivity and 1 died after liberation (leaving a supposed balance of 187 who survived).


40 There are a total of 8 listed as dying 'between War's End and Home' by Leech, R, Pacific War Odyssey. From Treaty Ports to A-Bomb. Ron Leech, Sydney, 1995, p.195, all listed in the Nominal Roll (Harrison, 1988, pp.353-259).

41 A balance of 182, and 1 died after liberation, was given by Jinkins, Major W T, "Gull Force (2/21 Bn) Association, Pilgrimage to Ambon, October 1967", with annotations by Mr W D Hicks, p.65. The one who died after liberation (Private Adams) is listed in the Hainan Nominal Roll but with an incorrect date of decease (Harrison, 1988, p.253).

42 Harrison (1988), pp.149-162. 43 Harrison (1988), pp.162, 260; Jinkins, Major W T, "Gull Force

(2/21 Bn) Association, Pilgrimage to Ambon, October 1967", with annotations by Mr W D Hicks, p.65; "Table Tops", No.1 03, 14 September 1945. Harrison has 18 men named as "Executed" in the Tan Toey Nominal Roll however (Harrison, 1998, pp.149-162), although he shows "17" in both of his summary tables (pp.162, 260).

44 There are 13 listed as killed by bombs (Harrison, 1988, p.162), although he incorrectly counted Private Crilly (who died before 25 October 1942), but did not annotate Lieutenant Campbell in the nominal roll (p.151 ). A total of 13 is also given by Jinkins, Major W T, "Gull Force (2/21 Bn) Association, Pilgrimage to Ambon, October 1967", with annotations by Mr W D Hicks, p.65.

45 A total of 377 died is quoted by Jinkins, Major W T, "Gull Force (2/21 Bn) Association, Pilgrimage to Ambon, October 1967", with annotations by Mr W D Hicks, p.65. A total of 370 is given by Harrison (1988), pp.149-162, but he wrongly includes 2 who died in Morotai after liberation, and there is one wrongly counted as a survivor.

46 For example, Harrison (1988), pp.143, 144: but he also states the figure as 123 (p.142).

4 7 "Table Tops", No.1 03, 14 September 1945. There were also 26 Indians, 9 Americans and 5 Dutchmen.

48 Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 28 February 1999. 4 9 Private C W Howse is listed with a decease date of 1 5 September 1945 in

Harrison (1988), p.154, but he in fact died of Beri Beri in Tan Toey Camp on 15 September 1944 (Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 28 February 1999).

50 Listed with a decease date of 26 October 1942 in Harrison (1988), p.253, but in fact died in Hong Kong in September 1945 (Leech, 1995, p.195; Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 28 February 1999).

51 Listed without a decease date in Harrison (1988), p.151, but in fact died in Morotai on 18 September 1945 (Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 28 February 1999).

52 Listed without a decease date in Harrison (1988), p.157, but in fact died in Morotai on 13 September 1945 (Mr W D Hicks, pers comm, 28 February 1999).


53 Often stated as 52, but this has been derived by quoting .2..8. escapees from Laitimor Peninsula: Redhead's party of 4 and Amor's party of 2 who escaped from Tan Toey Camp were double-counted as escapees ~ captivity (Harrison, 1988, p.60).

54 Harrison (1988) pp.251, 252.

Appendix 2

RMS DECLARATION

OF INDEPENDENCE

Given below is the text of the Declaration of Independence of

Republik Maluku Selatan (RMS, Republic of the South Moluccas),

proclaimed by Dr Christopher Soumokil in Ambon on 25 April

19501. This declaration was ratified in a Provisional Constitution

of the South Moluccan Republic issued in September 19502.

Appendix 2, RMS Declaration of Independence

Proklamasi.

Kemerdekaan Maluku Selatan.

Memenuhi kemauan jang sungguh, tuntutan

dan desakan rakjat Maluku Selatan, maka

dengan ini kami proklamir KEMERDEKAAN

MALUKU SELAT AN, defakto de jure, jang

berbentuk Republik, lepas dari pada segala

perhubungan ketatanegaraan Negara Indonesia

Timur dan R.I.S., beralasan N.I.T. sudah tida

sanggup mempertahankan kedudukannnja

sebagai Negara Bagian selaras dengan

peraturan2 Mutarar Denpasar jang masih sjah

berlaku, djuga sesuai dengan keputusan Dewan

Maluku Selatan tertanggal 11 Maret 1 94 7,

sedang R.I.S. sudah bertindak bertentangan

dengan keputusan2 K.M.B. dan Undang2 Dasarnja

sendiri.

Ambon, 25 April 1950.-

Pemerintah Maluku-Selatan,

(J. H. Manuhutu)

(A Wairisal)

2 -2

Appendix 2, RMS Declaration of Independence

Declaration

of Independence of the South Moluccas.

To grant the real will, wishes and demand of

the people of the South Moluccas, we hereby

proclaim the independence of the South

Moluccas, de facto and de jure, with the

political structure of a republic, free from any

political connection with the Negara Indonesia

Timur and the Republic of the United States of

Indonesia, on account of the fact that the

Negara Indonesia Timur is unable to maintain

her position as a part of the United States of

Indonesia, in accordance with the "den-pasar

regeling", which is still valid now and

concerning to the resolution of the Council of

South Moluccas of March eleventh 1 94 7, while

the Republic of the United States of Indonesia

has acted incompatible with the resolutions

taken at the Round Table Conference and its

own constitution.

Ambon, 25 April 1950.-

the Government of South Moluccas,

the President, J H Manuhutu.

the Prime Minister, A Wairisal

2-3

Appendix 2, RMS Declaration of Independence 2-4

Notes

Sahalessy, D, An Isolated War. Twofold suppression of the Moluccan right of Independence. A Memorandum. Moluccan Peoples Mission, The Netherlands.

2 "De voorlopige grondwet van de 'Republiek Zuid-Molukken'. Undang-Undang Dasar Sementara 'Republik Maluku Selatan' ", 4 September 1950.

APPENDIX 3

SONGS OF DOOLAN

'The Australian Song'

(abbreviated version) 1

Australi mati,

bernama si Doolan.

Mati ditembak

oleh tentara ]epang.

Mayatnya dikubur

dibawah pohon gandaria.

Sayanglah sadiki

kepada anak dan istrinya,

tak dapat melihat.

An Australian has died

Whose name is Doolan.

He died by being shot

By the Japanese troops.

His corpse was buried

under a gandaria tree.

Please sympathise a little

with his child and wife,

unable to see (his corpse).

Appendix 3, Songs of Doolan

The "Doolan Song", or

"The Ballad of Bill Doolan" z (sung to the tune of 1Rose in Her Hair')

On the first day of February

An Australian soldier climbed into his strongpost.

Thousands of japanese soldiers lay killed and

wounded,

Shot by the great guns, machine-guns and rifles

Of the Australians on Ambon

One Australian named Doolan

Had killed many japanese soldiers.

He did not run away or move back,

until at last he was killed

By the japanese soldiers.

An Australian named Doolan

Died by the side of the road.

His grave is under a Gandaria tree.

His mother and father, wife

And children have not seen it.

His tale is told evezywhere.

An Australian named Doolan

Died by the bullets from the japanese soldiers.

Calling his mother, father, wife and children

But they cannot hear him.

3-2

Appendix 3, Songs of Doolan

The "Doolan Song", or

"The Ballad of Bill Doolan"

(sung to the tune of 'Rose in Her Hair')

Pada tanggal satoe boelan Pebruari

Serdadoe Australi masoek dalam stelling

Beriboe-riboe serdadoe Djepang mati dan loeka

Kena pelor meriam mitraleur senapan

Dari Australi Ambon.

Australi satoe bernamalah Doolan

Telah memboenoe banjak serdadoe Djepang

Laripoen tida moendoer djoega tida

Sampai penghabisan ditembaknja

Mati dari serdadoe Djepang.


Mati terlantarlah di tepi djalan

Tempatnja koeboer dibawah pohon Gandaria

/boelah dan bapa bibilah

Dan anak tida dapat lihat

Chabar tersiar sekeliling tempat.


Mati ditembak dari serdadoe Djepang

Panggil iboe bapa anak dan

Saudara tidalah menjahoet.

3-3

Appendix 3, Songs of Doolan 3-4

The "Song of Doolan" 3

Sio, dari Halong

La ke Kudamati,

Dekat Om Among,

S'orang Australia mati.

Kubornya dibawah

Pohon gandaria.

Sayanglah sadiki

Bini dan anaknya,

Tidal dapat Jihat.

Australia itu,

Bernama Doolan,

fa ditembak

Oleh musuh ]epang.

fa terlan tang

La di pinggir jalan.

Sayanglah sadiki

Bini dan anaknya,

Tidal dapat lihat.

Sioh, kasiang,

aduh, kasiang,

Bagaimana anak dan bininya,

Sioh, kasiang,

sungguh, kasiang,

Tinggal nisan jadi kenangan.

Away from Halong

Up to Kudamati,

Near Uncle Among's,

An Australian has died.

His grave is under

A gandaria tree.

Please sympathise with

His wife and child,

Who will never see him again.

This Australian,

Whose name is Doolan,

He was shot

By the japanese enemy.

His corpse now lies

Along side the road.

Please sympathise with

His wife and child,

Who will never see him again.

Oh, how painful,

Oh, how dreadful,

Must it be for his child and wife,

Oh, how awful,

Oh, how sorrowful,

A tombstone remains

in his memory.

Appendix 3, Songs of Doolan 3-5

Notes

1 Mr P Papilaya, pers comm (Batugadjah, Ambon), 21 August 1997. 2 Ambon News , 7 November 1945. 3 Pattikayhatu, J A, "Kerjasama pasukan Australia-KNIL dan Rakyat Ambon

menghadapi penyerbuan T entara Jepang di Pulau Ambon, Indonesia pada Perang Dunia Kedua". Indonesian Studies, 1 0(1 &2), 1993: pp.30-31.

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